The Rhodes scholarships

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THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

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CECIL JOHN RHODES

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THE

RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

BY

GEORGE R. I'AKKIN, C.M.C.

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CECIL JOHN RHODES

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THE

RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

BY

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THE

RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

BY

GEORGE R. PARKIN, C.M.G.

HON. D.C.L. OZON.; TRINITY COLLEGE, TORONTO;

HON. LL.D. UNIVERSITY OF NEW BKUNSWICK; IICGILL UNIVERSITY,

MONTREAL; ADELAIDE ONIVERSrTY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

BOSTON AND NEW YORK

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY

Toronto : THE COPP CLARK CO, Limited

London : CONSTABLE & CO., Limited

1912

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PREFACE •

Since the death of Cecil Rhodes in 1903 his Trus-
tees have put into operation the Scholarship System
provided for under his last Will. As the provisions of
the Will applied to a large number of widely sepa-
rated communities, varying greatly in their educa-
tional development, as in other respects, and as the
suggestions made by Mr. Rhodes about the choice of
his Scholars involved methods of selection hitherto
untried, much preparatory study of conditions, in-
volving an immense amount of travel, and much
consultation with authorities in each community
concerned, became necessary before a system for the
administration of the Trust could be decided upon.
This work of enquiry was entrusted to me, and the
System now in use is largely based upon reports
which I made to the Trustees from time to time
after consultation with educational and other re-
sponsible authorities in all the countries concerned.
In these reports I tried to embody the advice I had
received, and to outline the difficulties to be dealt
with, adding my own conclusions as to the best way
in which these difficulties can be overcome.

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vi PREFACE

The System has now been in operation for some
years, and much experience has been gained in its
administration. This experience has brought the
conviction that to ensure the greatest efficiency, and
to achieve the best results from the System, it has
become essential to give the widest possible public-
ity, in some readily accessible form, to all matters of
general interest connected with the Trust; its incep-
tion, its history, its aims, its problems, the oppor-
tunities it offers, and its methods of administration.

The chief reasons for this conclusion are obvious.
The Scholarship endowment is made in perpetuity.
Centuries hence we may expect it to be in opera-
tion, just as other Oxford scholarships rest on en-
dowments centuries old. The methods by which
it can be made most effective will only be gradually
learned from experience. They will certainly de-
mand change from time to time, as conditions change
in the countries from which Scholars are drawn, or.
in Oxford itself. Thoughtful cooperation among edu-
cational men in many parts of the world will there-
fore be required to maintain the efficiency of the
System over long periods of time. The fullest dis-
cussion of the ends to be kept in view, of the means
used to attain them, and of hindrances to success is
therefore imperative. Careful consideration by many

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PREFACE vii

minds of the methods employed by the Trust, of
the grounds on which Scholars are selected, of the
agencies most efficient for making selection, of the
work of the Scholars and the spirit in which they
do their work, of Oxford's arrangements for giving
effect to the scheme, will all prove necessary and
useful in making of this great Trust all that it ought
to be.

It seems especially desirable that the many Com-
mittees of Selection, to whom the choice of Scholars
is entrusted, should have the clearest possible idea
of the principles on which choice should be made.
These committees now embrace a large proportion of
the leading educational men, and others in high
official position, in more than seventy countries,
states, provinces, and colonies where Scholarships
are awarded. As the composition of the committees
changes from time to time, each new member should
have a ready means of informing himself about the
nature of his responsible duties.

The Scholars, again, are drawn from a great many
remote communities, where little is known of Ox-
ford, and they will in future be drawn from remote
generations, which cannot be expected to know
much about Rhodes. It seems necessary to the suc-
cessful development of the foundation that definite

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viii PREFACE

information about both should be within easy reach
of all Candidates and Scholars. To them the course
of study which best prepares for entry at Oxford,
the opportunities for further study, and the range of
teaching provided at the University, the peculiar
features of college life, the cost of living, and like
questions, cannot but be of deep interest.

Nor does it seem less necessary that every Scholar
of succeeding generations should know something of
the life of the man whose benefaction he enjoys, and
whose purposes he is in part fulfilling when he accepts
his Scholarship. Only the briefest outline can here
be given of his stirring career, but reference is made
to various authorities, from which fuller information
can be obtained, and there is added some account of
the development in his mind of the principles and
purposes which prompted his Bequest.

In pursuing the enquiries necessary to the organi-
sation of the Trust, I have at various times met
with strongly expressed differences of opinion as to
the interpretation which should be put upon some
clauses of the Will. As I have tried to bring all such
points very fully to the notice of the Trustees, who
have given to them prolonged and careful considera-
tion, it seems desirable that the reasons should be
made public on which — using the wide latitude of

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PREFACE ix

judgment given to them under the Will — they have
based their decisions,

It is in view of these various considerations that I
have asked permission of the Trustees to summarize
the experience gained In the work of organization,
and to prepare such a statement as seems likely to
serve a useful purpose in making the Scholarship
System known and its management understood.

Any statement about the organization of the
scheme would be incomplete which did not include
also the experience of my colleague, Mr. F. J. Wylie,
to whom was assigned the administration of the
Trust in Oxford itself, and who has therefore acted
as the intermediary between the elected Scholars,
the Colleges, and the University. Chapters VI and
VII, dealing with the University System and the
social side of Oxford life, have been contributed by
him.

It is perhaps unnecessary to remind readers that
no present statement can be considered as binding
the Trust in regard to such future modifications of
the System as may be suggested by further experi-
ence or made necessary by changed circumstances.

My hope is that this volume may find its way into
the libraries of the secondary schools, colleges, and
universities of the communities from which Scholars

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x PREFACE

are drawn, and there awaken an intelligent interest
in the Scholarships and prove a sufficient guide to
those who aspire to enjoy the advantages that they
offer. I trust that it will also be useful to the Com-
mittees of Selection to whom is assigned the deli-
cate, difficult, and highly responsible task of select-
ing the Rhodes Scholars.

For the form in which the subject is presented, I
must assume the entire responsibility.

G. R. P.

London, 191a.

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CONTENTS

' I. The Founder 1

II. The Will 84

III. The University and the Colleges . 104

IV. Methods of Selection . . .114
V. Age Limits and Collegiate Standing . 129

VI. The University System ... 138

VII. The Social Side of Oxford Life . . 181

VIII. Oxford and the Empire — America —

Germany 209

IX. The Scholar 224

Conclusion 233

Appendix 237

Index 247

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ILLUSTRATIONS

Portrait of Cecil John Rhodes . Frontispiece
Burial Place (The Matopos) .... 78
The Rhodes Memorial Monument, Cafe Town &»
Oriel College 146

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THE
RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

CHAPTER I

THE FOUNDER

Cecil John Rhodes, the founder of the Scholarship
System which bears his name, and one of the greatest
of Britain's builders of Empire, was born in the Vic-
arage of Bishop's Stortford Parish, in the county of
Hertford, England, on July 5, 1853. He was the fifth
of the nine sons of the Vicar of the Parish, the Rev.
F. W. Rhodes, and of Louisa, his second wife. To-
gether with his brothers he received his early educa-
tion at the Bishop's Stortford Grammar School, one
of those numerous smaller Elizabethan Founda-
tions which have done so much for centuries to keep
alive the classical spirit in English education, and
to mould English character. Here he pursued his
studies until the age of sixteen. It is on record
that he gained a classical scholarship and the school
medal for elocution, and at the age of thirteen was
in the first cricket eleven. Beyond this, little of Spe-

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' a" THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

rial interest is known of his school life. "He is de-
scribed," says one of his biographers, "as a slender,
delicate-looking, but not delicate, boy, and -as pos-
sessing a retiring nature, and a high, proud spirit."

On leaving school in 1869 he continued his class-
ical reading for a time at home under the direction
of his father, who was a Cambridge man.

It was not long, however, before the decision
about his future life was taken, which was to
affect profoundly the history of a continent. Of the
large family of brothers, four chose a military ca-
reer and entered the army. The father had hoped
that some of his sons would enter the Church.
Neither profession had attractions for Cecil, and
now it was settled that he should join another
brother who had gone to South Africa to take up a
fanning life, and in Natal was making experiments
in the planting of cotton. The decision to emigrate
to South Africa, so momentous for himself and for
the country to which he went, was apparently much
influenced by considerations of health. The Eng-
lish climate was considered too rigorous for a consti-
tution which had begun to show some signs of weak-
ness. He sailed from England towards the end of
June, 1870, and after a voyage of seventy days
landed at Durban on September I.

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THE FOUNDER 3

In Natal he had at once to face pioneer life under
its crudest and most laborious conditions. His
brother had obtained a grant of two hundred acres of
land under the Emigration Act of the Colony; Cecil
took up fifty more, to be paid for in five years. It
was bush land, only to be cleared with immense
labour. He had no capital — his allowance from
home was small — his brother of a roving and ad-
venturous disposition — Kafir labour was expen-
sive and uncertain — the heat great — cotton plant-
ing an experiment which in the end, and after many
disappointments, was only partially successful. But
he had made his entry into the great school of real
life — the school which teaches men to see things
as they are — which trains to physical endurance
and to patient effort in overcoming difficulties. The
warmer climate and the outdoor occupation fa-
voured his constitution, and he became compara-
tively robust. From his Natal life at this period he
also gained insight into the working of the Kafir
mind, invaluable afterwards when he had to legis-
late for Kafir needs — to employ native labour on a
great scale in working out his vast industrial schemes
— or, carrying his life in his hands, to face and deal
with the hostile tribes of the Matabele. Of this
brief stage in his career one thing more is to be said.

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4 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Neither the hardships of pioneer life nor remoteness
from intellectual surroundings displaced from his
mind au ideal destined to have far-reaching in-
fluence on his own and other lives. With a young
neighbouring farmer of like education and ambition
he kept up his classical reading, and together they
discussed the possibility of earning sufficient means ■
to enter Oxford and work out a course at the Uni-
versity.

But events were taking place which soon gave a
new direction to his energy and opened up new op-
portunities. The first South African diamonds had
been found in 1869; by 1871 the rush to the diggings
had fairly set in. Rhodes was drawn into the move-
ment; by October of the latter year he had closed
up his fanning operations, and was on his way to
the diggings in an ox-cart, carrying among his small
belongings "a bucket and a spade, several volumes
of the classics, and a Greek lexicon." Thus equipped
he reached in November, 1871, the place where Kim-
berley now stands, which was to give him the solid
foundation of fame and fortune. His earliest letters
are dated from the "De Beers New Rush."

He took charge of a claim owned by his brother,
who had preceded him in migrating from Natal, se-
cured others of his own, and for the next two years

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THE FOUNDER 5

gave himself up to the rough work of the mining-
camp — excavation, the sifting of gravel, the sorting
of diamonds, the management of Kafirs, speculation
in claims — whatever work of hand or brain came
in his way by which money could be made in that
hive of industry and fierce competition, which had
drawn to itself rivals in the search for wealth from
every quarter of the world. His energy soon began
to achieve results ; within little more than a year we
find him making small investments in Natal and
elsewhere. With this preliminary prosperity his old
dream of gaining an Oxford education re-asserted
itself. In 1S73, after spending some months in ex-
ploration on the veld, during which he became fa-
miliar with a characteristic side of South African
life, and with Dutch character and habits of thought,
he left his affairs at Kimberley in charge of an agent,
returned to England, and in October of that year
was matriculated at the University, and went into
residence as a member of Oriel College, after being
refused, on the ground that he did not care to read
for honours, by the Fellows of University College,
to which he first applied. A few months at the Uni-
versity proved that for him danger still lurked in
the English climate; a specialist whom he consulted
found both heart and lungs weak, and noted in his

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6 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

case-book, "not six months to live." He went back
to South Africa much disheartened, but another
period of veld life, with its bracing air and natural
conditions, set him up anew, and he returned to the
diamond fields to match his business ability as a
speculator and organizer against all comers. He is
described at this period by a contemporary, as "a
tall, gaunt youth, roughly dressed, coated with dust,
sitting moodily on a bucket, deaf to the chatter and
rattle about him, his blue eyes fixed intently on his
work, or on some fabric of his brain."

The next few years of his life present features
probably unique in the annals of biography; part of
the time, as health and his means permitted, spent
in keeping terms at Oxford — the vacations or lon-
ger periods when his funds were low or business anx-
ieties pressing, or the climate of England too se-
vere for his constitution, employed at the other side
of the world in the strenuous activities of Kimber-
ley, amid many vicissitudes of success or apparent
defeat.

Concerning this stage in his career one point is
worthy of note, especially by those who enjoy his
benefactions at the University or those who aspire
to do so. The idealism which inclined him to value
classical, study and led him to reverence a great

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THE FOUNDER 7

centre of literary culture seems never to have in-
terfered with the full development of his practical
business powers. On the other hand, the life of the
University and its teachings touched his imagina-
tion and kindled in his mind those conceptions of
the uses to which wealth can be applied that almost
alone give dignity to its pursuit. " What is the use •
of having big ideas," he is reported to have said to
General Gordon as a justification for striving after
wealth on the diamond fields, "unless you have
money with which to carry them out?" The proof
seems abundant that it was during the period when
he was pursuing this dual life, with aims to all ap-
pearance so widely divergent, that the "big ideas"
about South Africa, the Empire, and mankind
which later dominated his thought began to take
form in his mind.

A fellow of Oriel reports a fragment of Common
Room conversation, illuminating on this point, from
one of the later visits that Rhodes made to the Col-
lege. " I fear that I did not work at Oxford as much,
or get as much good out of the University, as I
should have done. But I did read some Greek, and
especially some Aristotle, and one sentence of his has
influenced me more than almost anything else. It
is one in which he says that the greatest happiness

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8 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

in life is to be derived from the conscious pursuit
of a great purpose." If all Oxford students could
read into their Aristotle such meaning, and draw
from it such inspiration, there would be less com-
plaint than is now often heard of Oxford's modest
demand for Greek. It is not improbable that the
youth full of high aspirations and destined for
large affairs found in the words of the philosopher
meanings which suited his own attitude of mind
towards the business of life. But it is interesting
to find over what spaces of time and place the spark
of inspiration passes: to find South Africa and the
nineteenth century linked with Athens and the
fourth century before Christ.

It was after his first terms at the University,
when back again upon the veld, that he outlined
in crude but striking form those plans for the con-
solidation of the British Empire, the unification of
the Anglo-Saxon race, and for the peace of the world
which in later years took more practical shape. The
document in which he did this remains in his own
handwriting to illustrate the audacity of conception
and continuity of purpose which from the very first
marked his career.

Not until December, 1881, eight years from the
time when he entered Oxford, did he finally secure

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THE FOUNDER 9

the degree upon which he had set his heart. But by
that time his fortunes were more secure and a new
sphere of action had opened up for him. The an-
nexation to the Cape Colony in 1880 of the mining
territory around Kimberley had led to the creation
of two new electoral districts, and for one of these,
Barkly West, Rhodes stood as a candidate in the
election which immediately took place for the Cape
Legislature. The fact that he won the seat at this
first attempt shows how strong was the position the
young miner had already gained for himself among
his contemporaries; the further fact that, amid all
the fluctuations of his fortunes, he continued to hold
this constituency, which was mainly Dutch, to the
day of his death, twenty-two years later, indicates
the strength of the personal influence he exercised
over men's minds. It was, then, upon an embryo
colonial statesman as well as a successful diamond
digger that Oxford conferred its degree in 1881.

The period when Rhodes entered the Cape Legis-
lature was an anxious one for South Africa. Already
the clouds were gathering which twenty years later
were to burst in a tempest of war. The Govern-
ment of Cape Colony was engaged in a struggle
with the powerful Basuto tribe; the Imperial Gov-
ernment had entered upon a more serious conflict

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io THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

with the Dutch of the Transvaal, which had been
annexed in 1877, but now again sought to assert
its independence. Some slight reverses to British
arms, crowned in 1881 by the serious disaster of
Majuba Hill, made such an impression on the mind
of Mr. Gladstone, newly returned to power in Eng-
land, that the armistice at first agreed to ended
in a retrocession of independence to the Transvaal,
coupled, however, with the reservation of suzerain
rights for Britain. This action of the Imperial Gov-
ernment, by some counted as magnanimity, by
others as contemptible weakness, is one of the de-
bated points of history upon which final and defi-
nite agreement of opinion is probably impossible.
Whatever the interpretation put upon it, events
have since proved that this settlement left differ-
ences which, further developed by new circum-
stances, could only be settled by the sword.

From the very beginning of his parliamentary
career in Cape Colony, the mind of Rhodes was
dominated by two leading ideas. Both were the re-
sult of intense and genuine convictions in regard to
what was good for South Africa. In the light of all
that has happened in later years opinion will prob-
ably be agreed that in both of these main ideas he
was right, even though some of the methods by

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THE FOUNDER h

which he strove to give them effect are open to
criticism.

The first of these dominating ideas was the ex-
tension of British influence over the vast uncivilized
areas of Africa stretching northwards towards the
equator. He believed that in bringing their bar-
barous populations under the reign of law, and in
developing the great natural resources of these re-
gions, he would be serving the higher interests of
humanity as well as opening up new fields for Brit-
ish enterprise and settlement. Chiefly through his
initiative and under the influence of his compelling
purpose, this dream has in large measure been
realised.

The second of these ideas was the unification of
the various colonies of South Africa, with the two
European races that controlled them, into one
political system under the British flag. In ways un-
thought of by him, but on the whole in accord with
his views, that ideal also has now been attained.

But behind these purposes, which mainly affected
South Africa, were conceptions larger still, of which
they were but a part. While still a young man, fresh
from the University, his reflections had convinced
him that the closer consolidation of the British Em-
pire into an organic whole was an object of supreme

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ia THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

political importance for his own nation and for the
world. The dream that floated before his vision, as it
floats before the wisest and best of British people
everywhere, ts of an empire recognizing its enormous
mission and responsibilities in the world — with
wisdom and trained ability adequate to governing
rightly and justly the hundreds of millions of weaker
races dependent upon it — with strength sufficient
to maintain its position and protect its people in
every part of the world.

The Imperial idea, as it is understood by English-
men, was the point from which Rhodes started.
He believed in the British Empire and in its effi-
ciency for good. He was convinced that its main-
tenance was among the supreme interests of man-
kind. He wished to see its various parts drawn more
closely together, not as an agency of aggression, but
in the interests of peace, industry, and civilization.
For the attainment of this end he looked only to the
free force of free men trained up in the largest atmo-
sphere of liberty. Nor did he in this connection
think of his own race alone. He wished the full
advantages of citizenship in the Empire and a full
share in its work to be extended to civilized men of
any race who came within its bounds and accepted
its ideals of free government. At a later stage his

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THE FOUNDER 13

thought advanced much further, and aimed at draw-
ing the people of the United States and the kindred
German race into a common circle of sympathy and
mutual understanding for the same great end.

It will be conceded that dreams like these indicate
the workings of a large mind. Of their absolute sin-
cerity there can be no reasonable doubt, and I men-
tion them here because an understanding of this
side of his nature furnishes the only true key to the
career of Rhodes, and establishes at least its con-
sistency. Through every stage of his life his work
was inspired by the vast vision which he first out-
lined in writing when alone on the African veld,
a poor and comparatively friendless youth, but
already inflamed with ambitions for his country, his
race, and mankind that come with such living and
inspiring force to but few men, and to fewer still
who have the strength of will resolutely to pursue
them through good and evil report, through mis-
takes and failures, to the end.

That schemes of a world-wide policy were at work
m the mind of the young diamond digger and Oxford
undergraduate who in 1881 took his seat in the Cape
Legislature, would probably have come as a surprise
to the colonial politicians with whom he now became
associated.

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i 4 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Meanwhile his practical mind turned to the ques-
tions immediately around him, and from this time
forward he was to devote the greater part of his
short working life to wrestling with the problems —
industrial, financial, political, and racial — of the
Dark Continent.

From the first he was called upon to take a part
tn dealing with those native questions which must
always confront the South African statesman.
Colonel (afterwards Major-General) Charles Gor-
don, already famous for his exploits in China —
later to crown his career by his work in the Soudan
and by his heroic death at Khartoum — had been
asked by the Cape Government to arrange terms
of peaceful settlement with the Basutos, a numer-
ous native race with which the Colony had been
drawn into an unfortunate struggle. He recom-
mended, among other things, that compensation
should be paid to those natives who had remained
loyal throughout the contest, and Rhodes was
named as one of the Commission appointed by the
Cape Government to determine the awards. This
chance intersection, of the lives of two men, each
destined to stamp his name on the history of Africa
and the Empire, had its influence on both. Gordon
was so much impressed by what he saw of Rhodes

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THE FOUNDER 15

that he asked him to stay and share his work of
pacifying and controlling the Basutos. This was
in spite of strong and freely expressed differences
of opinion. "There are few men in the world,"
Gordon had said, "to whom I would make such an
offer. ... I never met a man so strong for his own
opinion; you think you are always right." A still
greater mark of his esteem and confidence Gordon
gave two years later, when, on the eve of his fateful
departure for the Soudan, he telegraphed to Rhodes
to come and join him in his attempt to overthrow
the tyranny of the Mahdi. " I am sorry I was not
with him," was the repeated exclamation of Rhodes
when he heard of Gordon's tragic death. The mu-
tual regard of men whose minds were cast in such
different moulds is noteworthy.

They had discussed their views of life. Both were
idealists. Gordon was what is ordinarily called an
unpractical man; he despised money, and for the
means to accomplish noble aims looked as few have
done to spiritual help and strength alone. Rhodes,
dreamer and at the same time ambitious man of the
world, fond of power, and confident about the use
he intended to make of it, had declared that he
meant to stay in South Africa and make money.
So each went his way — the one without the use of

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16 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

wealth to leave many aims unachieved, but a name
as unsullied, heroic, and inspiring as any to be found
in England's long roll of fame; the other, by use of
wealth, not always without blame, to achieve great
ends, and finally to consecrate all that he left to the
service of his fellow men.

In dealing with the large designs he entertained
for South Africa and through it for the Empire,
Rhodes was confronted by three distinct obstacles:
the indifference and variable policy of the Home
Government; the active opposition and conflicting
ambitions of the neighbouring Transvaal Republic,
bent, under the guidance of its able and determined
leader, Paul Kruger, on establishing Dutch suprem-
acy throughout the country; and lastly, the hesita-
tion of the Cape politicians to incur responsibility
for any extension of territory, or to give offence to
their Dutch friends in the Republic.

In addition to all this the development of his ideas
involved dealing with some millions of uncivilized
natives who were to be drawn within the circle of
British law and under civilized control. Few men in
public life have been called upon to deal with con-
ditions so complicated or to work forward to their
ends through such a tangle of conflicting interests.

The question of Basutoland had scarcely been

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, THE FOUNDER 17

settled by recognition of native independence with
friendly Imperial control, which Rhodes had advo-
cated, — a policy since worked out with remarkable
success, — when the further question of the control
of Bechuanaland became critical. On the solution
found for this depended the far greater question of
expansion northward, upon which Rhodes had fixed
his mind, as this region lay on the direct line of
approach to Central Africa. Unauthorized settlers
from the Transvaal had occupied portions of the
country, were quarrelling with the natives, and had
planned the establishment of two small republics.
The native chiefs objected to this, preferring a
British Protectorate, as did many white settlers.
Sent by the Cape Government to study the merits
of the question and to fix boundaries, Rhodes spent
months during 1883 first in securing concessions
from the native chiefs, and then in trying to induce
the Cape and Imperial Governments to assume
control of the whole country. But he could not at
the moment overcome the hesitation of either. The
Dutch members of the Cape Legislature sympa-
thized with the freebooters from the Transvaal;
the Imperial Government dreaded increased respons-
ibilities. Against these obstacles Rhodes for some
time laboured in vain.

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18 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

The motives which actuated him were clearly
stated in a speech made in the Cape Legislature
after his return: —

I feel {he said] that the House has not yet risen to the
supreme importance of this question. . . . You are deal-
ing with a question on the treatment of which depends
the whole future of this Colony. I look upon this Been-
uanaland territory as the Suez Canal of the trade of this
country, the key of its road to the interior. ... I sol-
emnly warn the House that if it fails to secure control of
the interior, we shall fall from our position as the para-
mount State, which is our right in any future scheme of
Federal Union.

The hesitancy of the British Government, the in-
difference of the Cape Parliament, tried sorely his
eager spirit. But though foiled for the moment, he
was gathering power. It was at this time that a
keen observer, Baron von Hflbner, then at Cape
Town in the course of a tour through the Empire,
wrote his impression of the youthful politician: —

The path which he has taken, and means to take,
marks him out to me as one of those many links, almost
invisible to the naked eye, but which collectively form a
bond strong enough to bind the Colonies firmly to the
Mother Country, and the Mother Country to the
Colonies.

During these years, between 1884 and 1888,
while attending to bis parliamentary duties and

Digitized by GoOgle

THE FOUNDER 19

carrying on the work and negotiations with which
he had been entrusted in Basutoland and Bechua-
naland, Rhodes was engaged in a prolonged effort
in which all his fortunes were at stake, to master
the difficulties of the mining situation at Kimberley.
It was generally agreed that only a consolidation of
smaller claims could save the diamond interest and
place it upon a secure basis. The De Beers Mining
Company, with Rhodes at its head, had but one
powerful rival in the corporation of the Kimberley
Mine, controlled by Barnato. After a keen struggle
for supremacy, the dramatic history of which has
been fully written, but must not detain us here, the
business genius and courage of Rhodes prevailed and
the amalgamation of the various companies into
"The De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited" fixed
on a sound working basis this great Cape industry,
and established the fortunes of Rhodes himself (who
became Chairman of the Company) and of his
partners.

But the consolidation of the various diamond
interests meant much more for Rhodes and for
Africa than the formation of a great and successful
mining company. In the face of determined opposi-
tion from some of the principal partners Rhodes in-
sisted that the trust deed should give the Company

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20 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

power to undertake enterprises of the most far-
reaching kind. "Nor," says Sir Lewis Michell,
"have the wide powers been a dead letter. The
Company has built railways, tram-lines and roads,
established immense dynamite works, electric and
other factories, model villages, cattle ranches, fruit
farms, and in a hundred ways availed itself of the
latitude given to it in its trust deed." It covered
the whole range of South African development.
Among other things, the Company was empowered
to acquire tracts of country, with any rights that
might be granted by their rulers, and expend thereon
any sums deemed requisite for the maintenance and
good government thereof.

All this meant that Rhodes kept a steady eye on
expansion northward, and was making the diamond
industry subsidiary to far-reaching political aims.
So it was understood by those upon whom he forced
his views. " You have a fancy for building an Em-
pire in the north, and I suppose you must have your
way," was Barnato's remark in finally yielding to
his determined colleague. "Rhodes was a strange
man," another of the partners — Alfred Beit —
once remarked to me. " The rest of us were there to
make money, and for nothing else ; he was thinking
of the British Empire. So he got inserted clauses

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THE FOUNDER '21

which made It possible to employ the resources and
the credit of De Beers to extend the boundaries of
the empire to the heart of Africa." It may be noted
that in the end Alfred Beit left two or three millions
of his wealth to confirm and consolidate the Im-
perial ideas of his friend and partner.

The history of these next years is the history of a
conflict between two iron wills inspired by opposing
ideals. That which Rhodes had ever before his mind
was a South Africa united under the British flag —
its two white races, English and Dutch, working
together to develop the country — to push British
occupation and civilization northwards along the
great plateau leading to Central Africa — to control
on some common and broad lines of policy leading to
civilization the millions of natives who would thus
be withdrawn from uncontrolled savagery and
brought within the circle of British law and ordered
government. What English and French had done
for Canada, he would have English and Dutch do
for South Africa; build up one of a sisterhood of
nations under a common flag and acknowledging a
common allegiance. Towards the accomplishment of
this large aim he proposed to apply his own wealth
and the influence of the great company he had
built up.

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92 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Working on narrower lines, but inspired by a
passion of racial patriotism equally intense, Paul
Kruger's mind had conceived the widely different
idea of a South Africa dominantly Dutch. As a
youth he had trekked away from the range of Brit-
ish influence at the Cape; had seen his people in the
Transvaal win a place for themselves with pain and
difficulty on the arid veld ; had conceived the idea
of annexing the country east and west from ocean
to ocean, and by so doing getting control also of the
lines of northern expansion.

He had encouraged the raiders from the Transvaal
who attempted to get a footing in Bechuanaland,
and finally published an official proclamation annex-
ing to the Transvaal, " in the interests of humanity,"
a considerable part of the disputed territory. This
was plainly in defiance of the lately concluded Con-
vention of London, and the Imperial Government
was at once stirred to action. A military expedition
under Sir Charles Warren was despatched to the
North; President Kruger recognized the impossibil-
ity of persisting in his course, and Rhodes, who had
accompanied the expedition in a civil capacity at
the request of the High Commissioner and Sir
Charles Warren, had at last the satisfaction of seeing
the southern part of the disputed territory organized

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THE FOUNDER 23

under Imperial control as British Bechuanaland, the
■ northern portion declared a British Protectorate,
and the route to the north in this way saved. At the
same time he firmly maintained the right of Dutch
settlers to equality of treatment. He had differed
seriously on this point with the military commander
in regard to the terms of settlement. The defence
of his position in the Cape Assembly well illustrates
his attitude of mind on the most fundamental ques-
tion in South African affairs. In the course of his
speech he said: —

I think all would recognise that I am an Englishman,
and one of my strongest feelings is loyalty to my own
country. If the report of such a condition in the settle-
ment by Sir Charles Warren is correct, that no man of
Dutch descent is to have a farm, it would be better for the
English colonists to retire. I remember, when a young-
ster, reading in my English history that the supremacy of
my country was due to its adherence to two cardinal axi-
oms : that the word of the nation, when once pledged, was
never broken, and that when a man accepted the citizen-
shipof the British Empire, there was no distinction between
races. It has been my misfortune in one year to meet with
the breach of one and the proposed breach of the other.
The result will be that when the troops are gone, we shall
have to deal with sullen feeling, discontent, and hostility.
The proposed settlement of Bechuanaland is based on the
n of colonists of Dutch descent. I raise my voice

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24 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

in most solemn protest against such a course, and it is the
duty of every Englishman in the House to record his pro-
test against it. In conclusion, I wish to say that the
breach of solemn pledges and the introduction of race
distinctions must result in bringing calamity on this
country, and if such a policy is pursued it will endanger
the whole of our social relationship with colonists of
Dutch descent, and endanger the supremacy of Her
Majesty in this country.

It may be said with some confidence that had the
same principle of equal rights for all citizens pre-
vailed in the mind of President Kruger, South Afri-
can history would have taken a widely different
course from what it did in the succeeding years.

The expedition of Sir Charles Warren gave final
effect to the strenuous and prolonged efforts which
Rhodes had made to secure the route to the north.
The pathway was now open to him, and he at once
turned to the great task of northern expansion on
which his imagination had been so long bent It
was a complicated and difficult undertaking which
made equal demands on his courage, his diplomatic
skill, and his business ability. To accomplish his
ends financial support on a large scale was a first
necessity. The 'approval of the Imperial Govern-
ment, slow to accept new responsibilities, was re-
quired for each step taken. The country on which

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THE FOUNDER 25

his thought was fixed, a vast hinterland till quite
lately thought unworthy of attention by the Euro-
pean Powers that had vied with each other in getting
control of the coast regions of Africa, was held by
native tribes dominated at the time by a chief or
king of the Zulu race who maintained his authority
with relentless cruelty. For centuries the home of
savagery, the condition of this vast region had been
for some years especially deplorable. The itnpis of
Lo Bengula, the Matabele ruler, were sent out at
regular intervals to strike terror by general massacre
among the surrounding weaker tribes. The early
settlers of Bulawayo found portions of the neigh-
bouring veld strewn with the skeletons of those whom
he had ordered to execution in the ordinary admin-
istration of his government. It was but an illustra-
tion of what was taking place in many parts of the
country.

The first necessary step was to secure the right
of entry into the country from the Matabele king.
Other people had suddenly awakened to the import-
ance of the region. Germans, Portuguese, and
agents of President Kruger were trying to gain con-
cessions of various kinds. Partly ,to escape their
importunities Lo Bengula agreed to an arrangement
suggested by Rhodes by which he pledged himself

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26 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

" not to enter into any correspondence or treaty with
any foreign power, and not to sell or alienate any
part of his territory, without the sanction of the
High Commissioner."

This was an important move, even though the
result was mainly negative, since it secured a certain
degree of Imperial recognition and support. It was
quickly followed by another. Commissioners, fur-
nished with the necessary means by a syndicate of
which Rhodes was the moving spirit, went into the
country in 1888, and succeeded after much negotia-
tion in making a bargain with the king by which,
with the consent of his principal chiefs, he assigned
to the grantees in return for a considerable monthly
subsidy, and other considerations, the exclusive right
to all minerals found within his dominions, " with full
power to do all things that they may deem necessary
to win and procure the same."

Similar arrangements were made with neighbour-
ing tribes, and grants made to other parties were
acquired by purchase. Armed with these conces-
sions, and with others in prospect, Rhodes proceeded
to England, bent on securing the moral support of
the Imperial Government, which was essential to
the attainment of the objects he had in view, even
though its direct assistance could not be expected.

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THE FOUNDER 27

He applied, therefore, to the Crown for one of
those royal, charters which have proved so useful in
enabling private capital and enterprise, in the ab-
sence of government initiative, to be directed to the
building-up of the British Empire. In making the
application he outlined his plans for the develop-
ment and government of the country, and under-
took to extend railways and telegraphs to the Zam-
besi.

After long and critical consideration the charter
was granted and in October, 1889, the British South
Africa Company was legally constituted with power
to develop the concessions it had obtained, and,
subject to the approval of the Imperial authorities,
to administer the government of the territories to
which the charter extended, and over which the
Company should secure control.

Among the objects enumerated in the charter
as reasons for which it is granted are: the promotion
of civilization and good government; the regulation
of liquor traffic with the natives, and the improve-
ment of their condition; the suppression of the slave
trade, and the opening-up of the country to the
immigration of Europeans and to the trade and
commerce of British subjects and ' of other na-

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28 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

A long and difficult path had yet to be travelled
before the plans he had in view were fully realized;
but it is worth while to pause here and reflect upon
the magnitude of the enterprise to which Rhodes had
set his hand, and which he lived to see far on the
road to achievement.

The area of the vast territory which by Ms fore-
sight, energy, and persistence he was thus to redeem
from barbarism and bring under the reign of law
within the British Empire embraces more than
seven hundred and fifty thousand square miles,
about equal to one quarter of the United States,
or almost as much as the united areas of Great
Britain, France, Germany, Austria, and Spain.

The part south of the Zambesi has been proved
to be emphatically a white man's country, capable
of European settlement, rich in mineral resources,
and with great agricultural and pastoral possibili-
ties. The northern half presents a great field for
civilized administration. In much of this vast re-
gion industrial progress has now taken the place of
tribal wars. Villages, towns, and cities occupy
ancient abodes of cruelty. Just laws protect the
natives, while the white man's energy furnishes
them with employment. Moreover, the country
has become a base from which the problems of

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THE POUNDER 29

Central Africa can be approached and its resources
developed. Towards the realization of what was
thought the most extravagant of all the dreams of
Rhodes, the Cape-to-Cairo route, the railway line to
the northward, which aims at connection with the
Mediterranean, has already advanced many hun-
dreds of miles beyond the Zambesi and nearly
twenty-five hundred miles from the Cape. This
much by way of anticipation.

But Rhodes was to learn the lesson constantly
repeated in history that savagery does not make
way for civilization without a struggle. The forma-
tion of the British South Africa Company and the
possession of a royal charter were but preliminary
steps. The business of occupation had now to be
faced, and to carry out this difficult task new agen-
cies had to be called in. Fortunately Rhodes had
the power of inspiring in other men belief in his large
conceptions, and the most devoted loyalty in carry-
ing out the tasks to which he sent them. He had
drawn around him a group of friends without whose
co-operation all authorities agree that the occupation
could not have been accomplished. Of the weary
journeys undertaken by these men, of the prolonged
negotiations they carried on, of the risks they ran,
of their skilful management of Lo Bengula, of the

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30 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

grudging permission at last obtained that a force
should be allowed to move into Mashonaland, pro-
vided it avoided the Matabele country, of the per-
ilous march through unknown country which fol-
lowed, much has been written which reads like the
most vivid tales of romance. It is enough to say
here that, after months of anxious negotiation and
careful preparation, a small body of men, scarcely
a thousand in all, made up of pioneers, mounted
police, prospective settlers and camp-followers,
with F. C. Selous, the African hunter, as their guide,
and Colonel Pennefather as military commander,
worked their way for some hundreds of miles through
pathless forests and over difficult veld, in constant
danger of attack, around the confines of the Mata-
bele country, and finally reached the spot in Ma-
shonaland where Salisbury, the capital town of
Rhodesia, now stands, and there, on September II,
1890, planted the British flag and established them-
selves. No more audacious feat of adventure has
been accomplished in modern times and few have
proved so pregnant with results. The High Com-
missioner indicated its true significance when, in a
letter to Rhodes a few days later, he congratulated
him upon " the success thus far of the great work
you have inaugurated for the development of and

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THE FOUNDER 31

extension of civilization into the heart of South
Africa."

Once their goal was reached, the military organ-
ization of the pioneers was broken up; they began
to mark out homesteads or prospect for gold, an-
cient workings of which were found on all sides; the
Mashonas, a peaceable people, gladly entered into
their employ, and the machinery of civilized life
soon began to get in motion.

While these stirring scenes were being enacted
in the north, and while Rhodes was still anxiously
waiting day by day for the reports of progress made
by his column of occupation, a turn in political af-
fairs at the Cape had laid upon him a new burden
of responsibility. Ten years of active parliamentary
life had left him the most prominent figure in the
Cape Assembly, and when in 1890 the Ministry
of the day was overthrown, he was called upon by the
Governor to form an administration. He undertook
the task with some misgiving, for the pressure of other
cares had already almost decided him to withdraw
from politics. His position was now exceedingly anom-
alous ; at once Prime Minister of a self -governing Col-
ony ; Chairman of the great De Beers Company ; and
Director in South Africa of the Chartered Company
which was employed on its vast task of exploitation.

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32 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Each was a post that might well task the powers
of a strong man; in combination they furnished a
sufficient field for administrative genius. On one
point his position was open to grave question.. Was
the direction of such vast interests on the Contin-
ent, including the administration of a chartered
company, compatible with the position of respons-
ible adviser to the Crown in the management of
public affairs? Parliamentary criticism concen-
trated itself upon this doubt. Rhodes admitted its
reasonableness, and said that he would resign the
Premiership if he found that his private and public
duties clashed. He had reason afterwards to remem-
ber this undertaking. Meanwhile his manifest de-
termination to apply the threefold forces at his dis-
posal, the wealth of De Beers, the influence of the
Chartered Company, and his political position, for
the general good of South Africa appealed to the
popular imagination and so made his anomalous
position tenable.

I have no intention to trace here in detail the
work done by Rhodes as Prime Minister of Cape Col-
ony, save in its bearing upon his general purpose.
It was a provincial sphere: the outlook of most of
those with whom he had to deal was provincial.
But it is an old truth that great citizens give im-

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THE FOUNDER 33

portance to even a small State, and for him this ap-
parently narrow field of effort was dignified by the
vast background of continental and world policy
which was ever in his thought. What this back-
ground was has already been mentioned. A more
or less complete union of all South Africa, the occu-
pation and development of unappropriated coun-
try to the north, a common policy for all the States
in dealing with the immense and difficult native
problem, the maintenance of Imperial connection —
for all these great ends, Cape Colony, with its un-
rivalled strategic position in the Empire and its
large and loyal English population, was a necessary
base, and he valued accordingly the direction of its
affairs. But English support alone was not sufficient
for his purpose. To secure his political position in
the Colony he therefore established a working al-
liance with Jan Hofmeyr, leader of the Dutch party
at the Cape, and next to Rhodes himself the man
who had the largest outlook in South African poli-
tics. In doing this he exposed himself to much
British criticism. Hofmeyr was as keen to main-
tain Dutch interests in South Africa as Paul Kruger
himself, but on more reasonable and practical lines.
He might even be called an Imperialist; at any rate
he had taken part in two Imperial conferences,

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34 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

where his counsel in affairs affecting the Empire
bore the stamp of a large statesmanship. He was
critical of the narrow policy pursued in the Trans-
vaal, saw its dangers, and warned those who were re-
sponsible for that policy of the risks they were run-
ning. He recognized in Rhodes a willingness to give
the Dutch people the consideration to which they
were entitled. Rhodes, on the other hand, felt the
need of Dutch assistance in working out his large
schemes. He saw that only by the two races work-
ing together side by side could the highest destiny
of South Africa be achieved. The sincerity of his
conviction in this regard cannot be doubted. So
before taking the Premiership he frankly sought
the support of the Bond, whose policy Hofmeyr
directed. This support was promised, and thus for
some years the two men acted in intimate co-opera-
tion, and were on terms of warm friendship. " Both,"
says Sir T. E. Fuller, "believed in compromise;
both had the idea that by keeping together, and
perhaps modifying each other's programme, they
could work together for the welfare of the country
and the union of the races."

On one point only, that of the flag, was Rhodes
resolute and uncompromising. He was eager for a
union of South Africa, but only such a union as

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THE FOUNDER 35

would not sacrifice or endanger British connection.
Speaking at Kimberley soon after accepting the Pre-
miership, he referred first to the promise of Dutch
support that he had received, and of his own desire
to see the different States united, but added: —

It is customary to speak of a United South Africa as
possible within the near future. If we mean a complete
union with the same flag, I see very serious difficulties. I
know myself that I am not prepared at any rime to forfeit
my flag. ... If you take away my flag you take away
everything. Holding these views, I can feel some respect
for the neighbouring States where men have been born
under Republican institutions and with Republican feel-
ings. When I speak of South African Union, I mean that
we may attain to perfect free trade as to our commodities,
perfect and complete internal railway communication,
and a general Customs Union, stretching from Delagoa
Bay to Walnsch Bay; and if our statesmen should attain
to that, I say they will have done a good work.

And again, a few months later, addressing di-
rectly the members of the Bond at their annual con-
ference, he was equally emphatic: —

It took me twenty years to amalgamate the diamond
mines here. It was done in detail, step by step, and so our
Federation will be done in detail and you must educate
your children in this policy. I may meet with opposition
in carrying out my ideas, but I will never abandon them.
If you desire the cordial co-operation of the English sec-

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36 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

tion of the country, remember that we have been trained
at home, we have our history to look back upon, but that
we believed that, with your help, it is possible to obtain
closer union and complete self-government, but you must
not ask us to forfeit our loyalty and devotion to our
mother country.

Frankness could scarcely go further than this. The
support of the Cape Dutch was gained on an abso-
lutely definite understanding.

With his policy thus clearly stated and his politi-
cal position secured he turned to the tasks immed-
iately before him — the routine of colonial admin-
istration; pushing northward his Cape-to-Cairo
railway and telegraph systems; establishing rail-
way connection between Cape Colony, the Orange
River Colony, and the Transvaal; efforts at nego-
tiation for those Customs arrangements between the
States by which he hoped to increase the prosperity
and forward the unity of South Africa.

But no variety of work and interest could divert
his attention for long from the north. At the close
of his first parliamentary session as Premier he set
out with a determination to follow in the track of
his pioneers into Mashonaland, in order to see the
country for himself. After reaching the Tuti River,
more than a thousand miles from Cape Town, he

Digitized by GoOgle

THE FOUNDER 37

was with difficulty dissuaded from continuing the
journey by the urgent representations of the Im-
perial High Commissioner, who had so far accom-
panied him and had become keenly alive to the risks
involved in the attempt, on account of the attitude
of the Matabele. On his return journey he passed
through the Transvaal, where he had a friendly in-
terview with President Kruger.

It was not till the end of his second session as
Premier that Rhodes was able to carry out his plan
of visiting the region he had gained for the Empire.
On this occasion he went by sea along the East Coast
to Beira, ascended the Pungwe River for some dis-
tance in a flatboat, and then trekked over the dif-
ficult and unhealthy route that led to the Mashona-
land Plateau. He traversed much of the country,
looked into questions of administration, gave assist-
ance and encouragement to those who were facing
the difficulties of early settlement, visited the an-
cient gold-workings and the mysterious ruins of
Zimbabwe, and then returned over the route which
had been followed by the pioneer force, thus com-
pleting a rough journey of four thousand miles. He
came back more deeply convinced than ever of the
value of the new territory.

This trip made Rhodes an optimist in regard to

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38 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

the security of the country, as well as its value, and
speaking at a meeting of the British South Africa
Company in the autumn of 1892 he declared that
he no longer had any fear of trouble from the Mata-
bele. He was soon to be rudely undeceived.

Lo Bengula, while anxious to observe the treaty
to which he himself had agreed, and greatly pleased
with the large subsidy paid to him monthly, was
unable to restrain the warlike instincts of his
savage Matabele followers, jealous of the neigh-
bourhood of a white population, and impatient to
"wash their spears," as in past years, in attack on
the Mashonas and other weaker tribes around them.
One of the raiding parties in the summer of 1893
entered the Mashona country, and in the very
suburbs of the principal white settlement murdered
the native servants of the English pioneers. The
minor chief of a neighbouring territory, Chibu, who
claimed to be independent, and to whom Rhodes
had paid a friendly visit in 1892, was raided and
massacred, with all his people, at about the same
time. Dr. (now Sir Starr) Jameson, the Adminis-
trator of the Chartered Company, did what he could
to avoid a conflict, which might well mean ruin to
the Company, and disaster to the whole work of
occupation. His efforts were supported by the Ira-

3,g,l,zed by GoOgle

THE FOUNDER 39

perial High Commissioner, but without avail. A
demand from Lo Bengula that the Mashonas in
the neighbourhood of Victoria — men, women and
children — should be handed over to him for execu-
tion practically decided the anxious question that
Jameson was considering. "On his arrival at Vic-
toria," says Sir Lewis Michell, "he wired to Rhodes
at Cape Town explaining the situation and adding
that if a blow were once struck, it might become
necessary to assume the offensive and march on
Bulawayo. Rhodes, then sitting in the House, re-
plied laconically, 'Read Luke xiv, 31.' On receipt
of this message, Jameson called for a Bible and re-
plied, 'All right.' His decision was soon translated
into action." A body of police and volunteers —
less than a thousand in all — was hastily organized.
Rhodes himself, just released from parliamentary
duties at the Cape, having sold fifty thousand of his
own shares in the Company in order to furnish funds
for the emergency, travelled up the East Coast by
sea to Beira, and finally joined the small column
that had started from Salisbury. The trained regi-
ments of the Matabele, numbering many thousands
of fighting men, were overthrown in two severe en-
gagements, and when the force reached Bulawayo
it found that capital in flames and the king in flight.

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4 o THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

A detachment of the force sent in pursuit was cut to
pieces, every man dying rather than desert wounded
comrades. Lo Bengula, wishing to surrender, but
basely betrayed by two white men to whom he en-
trusted his message of submission, perished in the
flight, and was never heard of again. With the
power of the Matabele thus shattered, the country
became quiet, the old settlers were able to pur-
sue their work without fear, and new ones began to
flow in.

About the righteousness of crushing a savage and
cruel power such as that of the Matabele, Rhodes
had no doubt. He had critics of his course in Eng-
land and warm defenders as well, perhaps alike
sincere. The transition stage from savagery to civ-
ilization is never an easy one, and involves nice
problems of right and wrong in the conduct of those
who effect the change. America, Australia, and New
Zealand, as well as Africa, have had these problems
to deal with. That Rhodes and those who worked
with him do not suffer from any comparison of
methods, and that in the long run their action
served the ends of mercy as well as those of civiliz-
ation, few will now question.

It was not only in the north that Rhodes had at
this period to combat the reign of African barbar-

3,g,l,zed by GoOgle

THE FOUNDER 41

ism. A few months later, in Cape Colony, he was
practically compelled to carry out the annexation
of Pondoland, a large native territory in which
the conflicts of rival factions had led to a state of
intolerable anarchy. Escorted by only a hundred
mounted police and at no slight risk, he entered the
territory, overawed by his personal influence the
more troublesome chiefs, and settled the terms of
annexation, which were agreed to by the natives
themselves and confirmed by act of the Legislature.

It happened that during the same year Rhodes
had to deal, also in Cape Colony, with the native
question from a constructive point of view. His
action forms an interesting sequel to what has just
been narrated.

The Glen Grey Act, which he placed upon the
statutes of the Colony in 1893, when he held the
portfolio of Native Affairs, embodied his ideas as
to the methods by which the South African native
could best be drawn into the paths of civilization.
Of this Act Sir Thomas Fuller says: —

A bolder or more original measure was never submitted
to a legislative assembly. It was founded on the convic-
tion that the tribal life of the Kafir was an organized life;
that the Kafir for ages had been a born politician in his
own sphere ; and that the way to bring him into line with

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42 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

civilized life and a true citizenship was to develop and
give play to these instincts, and put public responsibility
upon his shoulders to the extent to which he could bear it.

Rhodes entered upon this experiment with a deep
sense of the greatness of the problem with which he
was dealing. When introducing the Bill into the
Legislature he referred to the fact that, including
the native population of the Cape Colony, that of
the Northern Territory, and the workers in the
mines, he was responsible for the welfare of about
two millions of coloured people.

The measure was designed to give a settled land
tenure instead of the communal system that had
hitherto prevailed — to teach the beginnings of
self-government, and to overcome the inveterate
idleness which constitutes the greatest hindrance to
progress among the native races of South Africa.
Over considerable areas reserved for the purpose
land was parcelled out to native proprietors in lots
of twelve acres, and to prevent the breaking-up
of these small estates they were to be held on the
hereditary principle. For Glen Grey and the other
locations to which the Act was extended a gov-
erning body was provided, partly elected by the
natives, pardy nominated by Government with the
power of taxation for local purposes. Able-bodied

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THE FOUNDER 43

natives who did not own an allotment were com-
pelled to pay an annual tax of ten shillings if not
employed at a regular wage. In operation the meas-
ure, which was gradually extended to cover a popu-
lation of about one hundred and sixty thousand,
has proved a success, and will doubtless influence ,

all future legislation upon the question. — '

But to return. The flight and death of Lo Ben-
gula now made it necessary to provide for the govern-
ment of Matabeleland. After consultation with the
High Commissioner and consideration of the whole
situation, the administration of the country was
by Order of Council entrusted by Her Majesty's
Government to the Chartered Company, which had
already occupied and taken control of Mashona-
land. The rule of the Company was to be subject
to the ultimate control of the High Commissioner.
Administrative rights over another vast territory
were in this way added to those land and mineral
rights which had already, with the full sanction of
the Imperial Government, been obtained. Thus a
great State was added to the Empire through the
bold imagination and persistent effort of a single
man, the courage of a handful of pioneers, and the
application of private resources to national purposes.
For a quarter of a century the administration thus

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44 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

established has carried on its civilizing work under
great difficulties, but with increasing success.

Rhodes never ceased to impress upon the share-
holders who supported him in the enterprise that
the main ends he had in view were Imperial — that
dividends were doubtful and remote — and that
they must place patriotism before profit in carrying
out the great scheme to which they had put their
hands. Statements made by him in this spirit some-
times troubled the City man, anxious for immediate
results, and without the vision that was ever before
the founder of the new State. But large gatherings
of shareholders were more than once entirely carried
away, even without the promise of dividends, by his
infectious enthusiasm.

The period with which we are dealing, during
which for five years Rhodes was Premier of Cape
Colony, furnishes astonishing illustration of the
untiring energy that he threw into the work of life.
The activities of these years were as various as they
were intense. He was at the height of his working
power, but even then he apparently knew that his
working time would not be long. The eager haste
with which he pressed on to his ends, the irritation
he sometimes showed at obstacles that stood in his
way, the mistakes he made, are probably accounted

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THE FOUNDER 45

for in large measure by this knowledge that what
had to be done must be done quickly.

The management of a party including both Dutch
and English, with widely divergent interests to be
harmonized, much public speaking, a break-up and
reconstruction of his ministry, a general election,
the administration of the Native Department of the
Colony, the oversight of provincial legislation and
constant attendance in Parliament, would seem of
themselves to furnish work enough for an ordinary
man. To this was added the direction of the dia-
mond mining industry at Kimberley, of gold mining
enterprises at Johannesburg, and the direction of
the Chartered Company with all its responsibili-
ties. Between parliamentary sessions rapid journeys
were annually made to England to meet his Board
of Directors, consult Imperial authorities, or secure
the financial backing necessary for his vast and
constantly enlarging schemes. Dealing with the Mat-
abele Rebellion and two later visits to his new country
filled other interludes in the routine of parliament-
ary work. Meanwhile he was planning the founda-
tion of an university at the Cape, for which he raised
large sums; developing fruit farms on a great scale;
and directing the construction of an extensive dyna-
mite factory to combat a monopoly in the Transvaal.

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46 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Other important national questions claimed a
share of his attention. With a view to the future
peace and unhampered development of South Af-
rica he made strenuous efforts in successive years to
interest the Home Government in the purchase or
lease of the Portuguese Province of Lorenco Mar-
quez, with its important port of access, Delagoa
Bay. His prolonged negotiations and enquiries, car-
ried on at considerable expense to himself, 'failed, but
had they proved successful it would have changed
the whole history of South Africa, as everyone will
recognize who understands the relation of Delagoa
Bay to the events of the succeeding years.

A rumour that the Colonial authorities at Down-
ing Street had thoughts of abandoning the Protect-
orate of Uganda in East Africa brought from him
a prompt offer to the Secretary of State to continue
to that point the telegraph line that he had already
completed to Salisbury in Mashonaland, without
any expense to Her Majesty's Government. In mak-
ing this offer he only asked for the assistance of
the Imperial Government in obtaining the necessary
sanction to pass through German East Africa, a
sanction afterwards obtained on his own personal
initiative at Berlin. Meanwhile his efforts probably
went far to decide the retention of Uganda. No

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THE FOUNDER 47

point where South African interests were at stake
escaped his close attention.

In English politics and parties he maintained an
interest, but almost always with immediate refer-
ence to those Imperial questions which were upper-
most in his thoughts. This was shown on two
occasions of peculiar interest. In the year 1888 he
contributed ten thousand pounds to the Irish Home
Rule Fund; in 1891 he made a contribution of five
thousand pounds to the funds of the Liberal Party.
On each occasion he took special care to place on
record the motives by which he was actuated in
making these contributions. The first of these sums
was given to Mr. Parnell only after an emphatic
written assurance had been given by the Irish leader
that no measure of Home Rule that he proposed
should interfere with the consolidation of the Em-
pire on some federal plan, nor exclude Irish mem-
bers from the Parliament at Westminster.

The correspondence between the two men has
been published in full and deserves careful reading,
since it outlines the views of Rhodes upon future
Imperial organization. Explaining the transaction
to his constituents in South Africa he said : —

I gave that money to his cause because in it lies the key
of the Federal System, on the basis of perfect Home Rule

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48 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

for every part of the Empire, and in it also the Imperial

tie begins.

In making the second of these contributions he
wrote to the organizing agent of the party: —

I enclose you a cheque for £5000, and I hope you will,
with the extreme caution that is necessary, help in guiding
your party to consider politics other than those of Eng-
land. ... I make but two conditions; please honourably
observe them; (1) that my contribution is secret; (2) if
the exigencies of party necessitate a Home Rule Bill
without representation at Westminster, your association
must return my cheque.

He adds in a postscript: —

I am horrified by Morley's speech on Egypt. If you
think your party hopeless keep the money, but give it to
some charity you approve of. It would be an awful thing
to give my money to breaking up the Empire.

In a letter to the agent two months later he says:

The matter that is troubling me is your policy as to
Egypt. I was horrified when I returned from Mashona-
land to read a speech of Mr. Gladstone's, evidently fore-
shadowing a scuttle if he came in. . . . If your respected
Leader remains obdurate when he comes into power, and
adopts this policy of scuttle, I shall certainly call upon
you to devote my subscription to some public charity in
terms of my letter to you, as I certainly, as a Liberal, did
not subscribe to your party to assist in the one thing that

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THE FOUNDER 49

I hate above everything, namely, the policy of disin-
tegrating and breaking up the Empire:

On parallel lines were his views on questions of
Imperial trade. Among his papers was found, after
his death, a copy of a letter addressed to Sir John
Macdonald, Prime Minister of Canada, who had
just won a keenly contested election on questions
which involved preferential trade with the mother
country. In this letter he says: —

I wish to write and congratulate you on winning the
elections in Canada. I read your manifesto and I could
understand the issue. If I might express a wish, it would
be that we could meet before stern fate claims us. I
might write pages, but I feel I know you and your politics
as if we had been friends for years. The whole thing lies in
the question: Can we invent some tie with our mother
country that will prevent separation? It must be a
practical one, for future generations will not be born in
England. The curse is that English politicians cannot
see the future. They think they will always be the manu-
facturing mart of the world, but do not understand what
protection coupled with reciprocal relations means. I
have taken the liberty of writing to you, and if you hon-
our me with an answer I will write again.

A similar letter was written to Sir Henry Parkes,
then the leading statesman of Australia. A touch of
pathos is given to the letter to Sir John Macdonald,

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50 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

which is dated May 8, 1891, by the fact that only
four days after it was written "stem fate" laid its
hand on the veteran Canadian Premier by the stroke
of paralysis which a few weeks later terminated his
career.

With the same object of strengthening material
ties with the motherland, he succeeded in 1898, in
the face of much opposition from the Home Govern-
ment, in getting inserted into the Constitution of
the new Territories, a clause providing that

' No customs duties levied on any articles produced or
manufactured in any part of Her Majesty's Dominions or
in any British Protectorate, and imported into Southern
Rhodesia, shall exceed in amount the duties levied on
such articles according to the tariff in force in the South
African Customs Union at the commencement of this
Order.

This was practically binding the Territories of the
Chartered Company to preferential trade within the
Empire.

Looking back upon a record such as this it may
fairly be doubted whether any British statesman of
his time was taking as wide and comprehensive a
view of Imperial questions as was Rhodes. On no
one has the name of "Empire-Builder" been be-
stowed with greater justice.

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But all these activities were soon to be overshad-
owed in South Africa by other events which were
now hastening forward to a crisis. In this crisis, as
has been said before, the two strongest wills in the
whole sub-continent were pitted against each other,
each bent with fixed determination on gaining its
own end. While Cecil Rhodes was straining every
nerve to widen the range of British influence and
unite English and Dutch in working out a great
British future for the country, Paul Kruger was
cherishing more and more his dream of a Dutch
supremacy.

The attempts to extend the Transvaal westward
into Bechuanaland — eastward through Swaziland
to the sea — northward into the territories of the
Chartered Company — were all bold moves towards
this end. The hampering of Cape Trade with the
Transvaal and finally the closing of the Drifts in
1895 — the denial of citizen rights to the Uitland-
ers — were parts of the same policy. No useful
purpose would be served by reviewing here the
various stages in this prolonged trial of strength.
A considerable literature has been devoted to their
discussion from every point of view, and in this
they can be studied in detail.

But now that the conflict is over, we can see

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52 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

clearly the strange blindness which, in the keenness
of the contest, fell upon both of the protagonists in
this great struggle — a blindness which was inevit-
ably leading to the temporary eclipse of one great
career — the total eclipse of the other. It has been
said that the tragedy of history consists not in the
conflict of right with wrong, but of right with right.
Never, except perhaps in the war of the Southern
Secession, was this saying more justified than in
the case of South Africa. On either side the inspir-
ing force sprang from strong sentiment and deep-
rooted convictions. Rhodes himself respected the
qualities of his Dutch opponent and understood the
passion of nationality as well as the love of power
that had been developed in him by circumstances.
While denouncing the methods and combating the
plans of President Kruger, he yet understood better
than almost any one else the compelling forces
which drove him onward in his mistaken course.
But he saw also that any Dutch control such as his
opponent aimed at would be narrow, exclusive, and
therefore impossible for the great and united South
Africa which filled his vision. Against its estab-
lishment he had no hesitation in opposing all the
resources at his disposal. The wealth derived from
the diamond mines — his personal effort — his in-

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THE FOUNDER 53

fluence as Premier and as the head of the Chartered
Company — were alike thrown into the scale.

To the support of Kruger also had come sudden
and unexpected command of money from the de-
velopment of the gold mines of the Rand. But with
the influx of wealth there had also come to the
Transvaal an influx of virile and enterprising pop-
ulation, drawn at first into the country for mere
business ends, but naturally bent, as it established
itself, on gaining some reasonable share in the con-
trol of the State to which it had brought such un-
exampled prosperity. Against the concession of any
such share of control the aged President of the
Dutch Republic, in defiance of the teachings of his-
tory, hardened his heart. He thought that he saw
in it the ultimate downfall of his own power. Even
so, his only hopeful policy would have been one of
conciliation. The major part of this new popula-
tion was British and American, with British and
American ideas of self-government. The old cry of
civic liberty — "no taxation without representa-
tion " — made itself heard. The people who uttered
it were furnishing ninety per cent of the revenues
of the State which treated with contempt their just
demands for political recognition. It was an im-
possible situation and all the portents of revolution

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54 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

were soon in the air. Rhodes believed that revolu-
tion was, under the circumstances, not only inevit-
able, but justifiable, and so lent bis encouragement
to an uprising in Johannesburg, projected with the
idea of forcing the concessions which were so sternly
denied. But in doing this he forgot that he was
Prime Minister.

Without consultation with his colleagues, or with
the representative of the Crown, he allowed a con-
siderable force of mounted police, under the com-
mand of Dr. Jameson, to be concentrated on the
borders of the Transvaal, ready to act in support
of any rising that took place. A premature move-
ment of this force precipitated the events known to
history as the "Jameson Raid." Over-estimation
of the strength behind the insurrection that had
been planned and under-estimation of the Boer
power of resistance, made the Raid a failure as well
as a mistake. It strengthened temporarily Kruger's
position; made more acute the animosities which
afflicted the country, and drove from the field the
one man who had hitherto seemed able to harmon-
ize racial feeling and lead Dutch and English along
paths of united effort The continuous success
which had so far marked the career of Rhodes was
brought to an abrupt end. He had now to learn the

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THE FOUNDER 55

lessons taught by humiliation and defeat. While
the immediate decision which led to the Raid was
made by the leader of the expedition himself, the
moral responsibility for the act of aggression was by
general consent assigned to Rhodes, and he did not
shrink from accepting it.

Few mistakes made by any public man have ever
met with more instant and overwhelming punish-
ment. Under the pressure of public feeling in South
Africa and England, he had to resign both the "
Premiership of Cape Colony and what he valued
more — his seat on the Board of the Chartered
Company. On all sides the opinion was expressed
that his career was ended. The tempest that broke
upon him might well have shaken the courage of a
weaker man. This first sharp rebuff of fortune did,
indeed, for a time test him severely. For a week
he remained in seclusion, preserving a silence which
was much misunderstood at the moment, but after-
wards known to have sprung from a chivalrous un-
willingness to say or do anything which would
further endanger the position of the leaders of the
Raid and of the Johannesburg Revolutionary Com-
mittee, now prisoners in Pretoria, and awaiting trial.

That Rhodes made a great and vital error in lend-
ing his encouragement and direct support, as Prime

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56 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Minister of Cape Colony, to the movement against
the established Government of the Transvaal, no
friend of his would deny. He himself frankly ad-
mitted this, as have those who were chiefly con-
cerned in it. That he should sympathize with the
wrongs under which the Uitlanders suffered was
legitimate and natural enough. But that he should,
with armed forces, assist revolution in a neighbour-
ing and friendly State, without the knowledge of
his colleagues or of the representative of the Crown,
admits of no justification. Such defence as he him-
self made was rather of the motive that actuated
him than of the act itself. His statement made to
the Select Committee of the House of Commons
appointed to enquire into the circumstances of the
Raid explains the attitude of his mind. In this state-
ment he says: —

From the date of the establishment of the gold industry
on a large scale at Johannesburg, much discontent has
been caused by the restrictions and impositions placed
upon it by the Transvaal Government; by the corrupt
administration of that Government; and by the denial of
civil rights to the rapidly growing Uitlander population.
This discontent has gradually but steadily increased, and
a considerable time ago I learnt, from my intercourse with
many of the leading persons in Johannesburg, that the
position of affairs there had become intolerable. After

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THE FOUNDER 57

long efforts they despaired of obtaining redress by con-
stitutional means, and were resolved to seek, by extra-
constitutional means, such a change in the Government
of the South African Republic as should give to the ma-
jority of the population, possessing more than half the
land, nine-tenths of the wealth, and paying nineteen-
twentieths of the taxes in the country, a due share in its
administration. I sympathized with and, as one largely
interested in the Transvaal, shared in these grievances;
and further, as a citizen of the Cape Colony, I felt that
the persistently unfriendly attitude of the Government of
the South African Republic towards the Colony was the
great obstacle to common action for practical purposes
among the various States of South Africa. Under these
circumstances I assisted the movement in Johannesburg
with my purse and influence. Further, acting within my
rights, in the autumn of 1895 I placed on territory under
the administration of the British South Africa Company
upon the borders of the Transvaal, a body of troops under
Dr. Jameson, prepared to act in the Transvaal in certain
eventualities. I did not communicate these views to the
Board of Directors of the British South Africa Company.
With reference to the Jameson Raid I may state that Dr.
Jameson went in without my authority. Having said this,
I desire to add that I am willing generally to accept the
finding as to facts contained in the Report of the Com-
mittee of the Cape Parliament. I must admit that in all
my actions I was greatly influenced by my belief that the
policy of the present Government of the South African
Republic was to introduce the influence of another foreign
power into the already complicated system of South

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58 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Africa, and thereby render more difficult in the future the
closer union of the different States.

How far this last opinion was justified is indi-
cated, if not proved, by a speech made by President
Kruger in 1895, the year of the Raid. At a banquet
given in honour of the Kaiser's birthday he said : —

I know I may count on the Germans in future, and I
hope Transvaalers will do their best to foster the friend-
ship that exists between them. ... I feel certain that
when the time comes for the Republic to wear larger
clothes, you will have done much to bring it about. . . .
The time is coming for our friendship to be more firmly
established than ever.

If further confirmation of the view taken by
Rhodes were needed, it would be found in the fa-
mous telegram in which the Kaiser congratulated
President Kruger "that without appealing to the
help of friendly powers" the Raid had been sup-
pressed; a telegram which, implying the possibility
of German intervention in South Africa, stirred
English feeling to the depths, and strongly influ-
enced the future course of events. It is pleasant to
remember here that six years later circumstances
brought it about that Kaiser and ex-Prime Minister
could meet and in a friendly spirit compare notes
about their indiscretions.

But that even a national danger such as this did

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THE FOUNDER 59

not give sufficient excuse for his action Rhodes ad-
mitted. Sir Thomas Fuller reports a speech ad-
dressed to a party of parliamentary colleagues, the
substance of which was afterwards repeated to a
large public meeting at Cape Town. He said: —

I do not so much regret joining in an attempt to force
President Kruger into a jus ter and more reasonable policy,
when he had resolutely refused all redress of grievances;
but what has been a burden to me is that I was Prime
Minister at the time, and that I had given a promise that
I would not do anything incompatible with the joint posi-
tion I held as Director of the Chartered Company and
Premier of the Cape Colony. On every ground I was
bound to resign, if I took such a course as assisting in a
revolution against an officially friendly State; and I did
not. I can only say that I will do my best to make atone-
ment for my error by untiring devotion to the best inter-
ests of South Africa.

To make this frank confession of error must have
put a strain on a self-confident and imperious tem-
perament such as that of Rhodes, and the point at
which it was made was not reached at once, nor, we
may be sure, without a struggle. But once sin-
cerely made it pointed the way to forgiveness and
reinstatement, at least among people who recognize
the truth of the saying that men who never make a
mistake seldom make anything.

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In the light of subsequent events we can see that
the Jameson Raid, like John Brown's Raid on
Harper's Ferry (to take another parallel from
American history), was but a premature and quix-
otic attempt to deal with ills too desperate and
deep-seated for such insufficient treatment. It fore-
shadowed the deadly and prolonged struggle that
was impending, but was by no means its cause.
Time has placed it in its true perspective. Its
leader, the most intimate friend and trusted lieu-
tenant of Rhodes, heir beyond any other to his politi-
cal ideas and purposes, following out on Constitu-
tional lines the great policy of his chief, has lived
to see that policy justified, to fill the post of Prime
Minister of Cape Colony, to take a leading part in
close and friendly co-operation with the foremost
Dutchmen of the Transvaal in working out the
unification of South Africa, to receive high honours
from the Crown, and, when compelled by ill-health
to withdraw temporarily from public life, to do
so acclaimed by Dutch and English alike for his
patriotic and self-sacrificing devotion to the inter-
ests of South Africa.

For the moment, however, Rhodes and Jameson
alike were swept away in defeat as the result of
their mistaken move. Jameson was sent to Eng-

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THE FOUNDER 61

land, tried, and condemned to a period of imprison-
ment. The leaders of the insurrection, at first sen-
tenced to death by a Boer court, were finally
reprieved, but subjected to heavy fines, to the pay-
ment of which Rhodes contributed more than sixty
thousand pounds. Two Parliamentary Commit-
tees — one at Cape Town, the other in London —
investigated the circumstances with special refer-
ence to the part taken by Rhodes himself. The
Report of the Committee of the Cape Legislature
placed on record a formal condemnation of the
course taken, as "not consistent with his duty as
Prime Minister of the Colony"; but the member of
tiie Committee who moved the adoption of the Re-
port used memorable words which showed that it
was the judgment, not the character of Rhodes,
which was impugned: —

I will never [he said] be led into the suggestion that his
motives were at any time grovelling or sordid: and I
believe that a vast majority of the people, not only in this
Colony, but throughout South Africa, including the
Transvaal, would say the same. The aim of Mr. Rhodes
was a high one. I wish it had been a right one.

Deprived of official position, Rhodes had now to
face life under changed conditions. He did so with
courage, with unshaken faith in bis guiding pur-

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62 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

pose, and with hope for the future. A few days after
resigning office he was at Kimberiey. Met at the
station by almost the entire population, anxious to
cheer Kim m the hour of disaster, and clamouring
for a speech, he said: —

There is an idla abroad that my public career has come
to an end. On the contrary, I think it is just beginning,
and I Have a firm belief that I shall live to do useful work
for this country.

Then he sailed for England, and met his asso-
ciates of the Chartered Company with;auph state-
ment of the circumstances and such vindication of
his action as he could offer. He also saw the Colo-
nial Secretary, Mr. Chamberlain, who had not long
before assumed control of the office in which he was
to do such momentous work. His official duty done,
Rhodes's stay in England was short. He had made
up his mind that for the present his field of work was
Rhodesia. Having arranged to return and give evi-
dence when required before the Parliamentary Com-
mittee, he was in a few weeks on his way, returning
by the East Coast route to Beira, resolved to throw
all his energies into the development of the new ter-
ritory. He had escaped from a storm of criticism
and detraction; he found himself almost at once
plunged into a tempest of actual war.

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THE FOUNDER 63

With their superstitions aroused by an epidemic
of rinderpest which swept away the cattle of the
whole country, excited by exaggerated (accounts of
the Raid and the defeat of the Administrator who
had hitherto kept them under control, and irri-
tated by the methods of the native police, the Mat-
abele rose in rebellion, murdered numbers of the
settlers, men, women, and children, and made a
determined effort to drive the white man from the
country. They were joined in the insurrection by
their hereditary enemies, the Mashonas. Every-
where the settlers had to stand for their lives and
only the most vigorous action saved the situation.
Regular troops under Sir Frederick Carrington were
sent to the help of the hastily organized local forces,
and over a wide area the fighting was severe. Rhodes
accompanied the troops and was frequently under
fire. After some months of campaigning the enemy
was driven into the rocky fortresses of the Mato-
pos, where it was almost impossible for troops to
follow them. It looked as if the war might be in-
definitely prolonged, at much sacrifice of men and
money, perhaps to the financial ruin of the Chart-
ered Company. The fate of Rhodesia was In the
balance. Rhodes determined to settle the struggle
after a fashion of his own. The risk was great, but

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64 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

he thought that he understood the native character,
and took his chance. In order to inspire confidence
he moved his camp to the foothills of the Matopos,
beyond the range of military protection and within
easy reach of the enemy. There he remained, quite
unprotected and constantly exposed to the attack
of the still restless and excited tribesmen. His pa-
tience and courage accomplished what arms could
not; the chiefs were gradually induced to come out
of their retreats to discuss terms of peace. After
various preliminary negotiations, a great indaba
was arranged, to which, in the depths of the Mato-
pos, Rhodes proceeded unarmed, with only three
white companions and two native guides. The place
of meeting proposed was a natural amphitheatre
among the hills, with walls of granite rising on every
side. As they approached, the cliffs were seen to be
swarming with armed warriors. Rhodes and his
companions dismounted, absolutely uncertain up
to the last moment whether an ambush had been
planned, or whether their reception would be
friendly. At length a flag of truce was raised, and a
procession of indunas came down from the cliffs and
formed a semicircle around Rhodes. He asked for
and heard their tale of grievances, some of which
were real, some imaginary. For those which were

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THE FOUNDER 65

real he promised redress, others he explained away.
Then, in terms of anger so strong that his inter-
preter hesitated to translate them, he attacked the
chiefs for their cruel massacres. "I do not upbraid
you," he said, "for making war on the white man:
but why did you kill our women and children? For
that you deserve no mercy." After an impressive
pause he continued, "The past is past and done
with. But what of the future? Is it to be peace or
war?" There was a moment of anxious suspense,
when an aged induna took up a stick and held it
above his head — then throwing it at the feet of
Rhodes he cried: "See, this is my gun: I throw it
down at your feet. This is my assegai," repeating
the action. The other chiefs shouted assent, and
soon they were surrounded by crowds of warriors
acclaiming him as Chief and Father. The Mata-
bele Rebellion was practically over. "One of those
scenes in life which make it worth living" was his
remark as he rode away.

Two of the principal chiefs remaining obdurate,
Rhodes waited patiently in the neighbourhood for
some weeks till they too yielded and made their sub-
mission. During all this time he was in daily com-
munication with the natives, establishing friendly
relations and gaining their complete confidence.

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66 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

The war over, Rhodes prepared to return to Eng-
land, and face the inquisition of the Parliamentary
Committee. In spite of the hostility towards him-
self that had been stirred up by the Raid, he deter-
mined to return by way of the Cape. His journey had
the character of a triumphal progress. Delegates
from all parts of the Eastern Provinces met him
when he landed at Port Elizabeth, and at a large
public luncheon given him by the Mayor and citi-
zens he referred to the effect on himself of the trou-
bled year through which he had passed, and to his
purposes for the future.

. . . The man [he said] who is continuously prosperous
does not know himself, his own mind or character. It is a
good thing to have a period of adversity. You then find
out who are your real friends. I will admit, Mr. Mayor,
that I have had a troubled year. From those from whom
I expected most I got least, but from many quarters —
some the most remote — I received a kindly support I
never anticipated. I am confident enough to say that I do
not feel that my public career has closed. I am going
home to meet a Committee of my own countrymen. As
soon as they release me I am coming back. I shall keep
my seat in the Cape House. You may tell me my faults,
but until you turn me out, I mean to remain with you. I
am determined still to strive for the closer union of South
Africa. I only hope that in my future career you will
recognize that I have never abandoned this programme.

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THE FOUNDER 67

A similar welcome awaited him at all the centres
of English population through which he passed.

More surprising was the attitude of the Dutch
settlers. Sir Lewis Michell says: —

As he neared the capital and traversed the beautiful
valley in which the Dutch for many generations have
made their homes — a valley inhabited for the most part
by members of the Afrikander Bond — it might well have
been that he should receive a hostile reception from those
who held — or were instructed by their leaders to hold —
that he had betrayed them and their nationality. But to
their eternal honour they not only forgot but forgave.
No amount of wire-pulling shook their belief that Rhodes,
with all his faults, was a great man, and, at heart, one of
themselves. At every halting-place he was enthusiastic-
ally received, and even at the Paarl, Wellington, and
elsewhere Dutch addresses of welcome were read which
deeply moved him. . . .

At Cape Town itself he was welcomed by great
public demonstrations, and on sailing for England
was cheered by one still greater. Mistaken as was
the Raid, the English population at the Cape knew
that the causes which led to the Raid remained, that
they stood in the way of the country's peace and
progress, and that the ideals of Rhodes were in the
main as true as the course of events has since shown
them to be.

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68 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

The investigation carried on by the Parliamentary
Committee of the House of Commons extended over
several weeks, and Rhodes was under cross-examin-
ation for eight days. His main defence has already
been mentioned. His statements under examination
were recognized as "full, dear, candid, and consist-
ent." Having given his evidence he undertook a
short tour in Spain and Italy, partly to be out of
the way, partly to study the possibility of introducing
the olive into South Africa.

The Report of the House of Commons Commit-
tee did little more than confirm the opinion given
by that of the Cape Legislature. The real nature of
the South African situation was beginning to be
understood in England, and the House of Commons
rejected by an overwhelming majority a suggestion
that the Report should have recommended "some
specific steps with regard to Mr. Rhodes."

Before the Report was made, Rhodes was back in
South Africa, had taken his seat in the Legislature,
and was winning his way back to his old position of
influence. He reasserted strongly his early political
beliefs, but pledged himself to strive for their accep-
tanceonly by constitutional means. He threw himself
vigorously into the reorganization of the Progressive
Party, and spoke much on behalf of its candidates.

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THE FOUNDER 69

These speeches [saya Sir Thomas Fuller] were amongst
the best and die most spirited he ever delivered, the great
burden of them being the Union of South African States
under the charter of equal rights for every civilized man
south of the Zambesi. They were glowing with the pos-
sibilities of the still expanding North, as supported and
ultimately embraced by a united South Africa. They
were glowing indeed with the vision of a new South Africa
— its latent forces quickened into life by the enterprise
and union of politically estranged races working together
under new combinations and Imperial sympathies.

The years 1897 and 1898 were full of strenuous
activities. Outside the legislative sessions and one
or two hurried trips to England, his time was chiefly
spent in Rhodesia, where he put forth every effort
to encourage the settlers and place the prosperity of
the country on a solid foundation. The railway was
completed to Bulawayo ; that from Beira was pushed
forward; against great difficulties the telegraph line
to the North was extended; four thousand natives,
including a large number of the rebellious chiefs,
were settled upon one of his estates in the same
neighbourhood. A long illness, during which his life
hung in the balance, seemed only to spur him on to
new exertions to complete the various tasks to which
he had set his hand.

In 1899 he was again in England, making import*

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70 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

ant financial arrangements for the Chartered Com-
pany and for the extension of the northern railway,
impressing everybody by his resistless energy and
enthusiasm in the pursuit of his large aims. The
Times said of him at this period: —

The whole public is now able to perceive the goal at
which Mr. Rhodes's Imperial ambition aimed when ten
years ago he came to England for the purpose of obtaining
a Royal Charter for The British South Africa Company.
, , . Reverses, obstacles, and failures, in which he hat
openly acknowledged his own share of shortcoming, have
but strengthened his determined grip upon the scheme of
his life's work. All is not done, but his measure of success
has been on the whole remarkable. The end has never
been abandoned, and step by step advance is made
towards its attainment He confidently hopes to carry
through the federation of the British States of South
Africa in the near future, and the chain of communica-
tions by which the federated States are to be held in
touch with British influence north of the equator ap-
proaches by practical stages to its completion.

He visited Egypt at this time to study the appli-
cation of irrigation, a question which he thought
vital to the future of South Africa. As a result of
this visit he sent from Cairo the following laconic
directions to his private agent at Bulawayo : —

I have seen what water can do when it has brains and
energy behind it. Begin the Matopo Dam at once. This

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THE FOUNDER 71

letter is authority for Michel! to finance yon. The work
is left entirely to you. Begin at once and have it ready for
next season's rains. We must not let any floods go to
waste. The contracts are left to you; you have my
authority to go to work at once.

The authority thus given involved the expenditure
of thirty thousand pounds.

It was during this visit to England that his old
University conferred upon him its honorary D.C.L.
degree, a recognition which he valued more, perhaps,
than any honour that ever fell to his lot. The cir-
cumstances under which it was conferred proved
how ready Oxford opinion was to pardon any mis-
takes that he had made. There had been some
suggestion of possible opposition in Convocation
when the question of conferring the degree was put.
Lord Kitchener, fresh from his victories in the
Soudan, received the degree at the same time, but
even the presence of the great soldier emphasized,
rather than otherwise, the warmth of the reception
that Rhodes received.

Never [said a writer at this time] did enthusiasm rise to
such a height, as it did on that Jnne day in the theatre
at the moment when Rhodes was receiving the degree.
Oxford had at last produced a real man of action, an
empire-maker, and she was proud of him. . . . The
crowds of Masters of Arts who flocked to welcome him

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72 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

meant to know the reason why if there had been the
Blightottsignof a hitch in the proceedings. Thatdaywas
probably one of the happiest days in Rhodes' a life, as
those well know who are aware of the fascination which
Oxford ever had for him. ... It has lately been said of
the great Napoleon that " to very few men in the world's
history has it been granted to dream grandiose dreams
and all but realize them." The same might be said of
Cecil Rhodes, with this addition, that those of his dreams
which are still unrealized will be realized very shortly.
He will ever remain one of Oxford's greatest sons. 1

From England Rhodes returned to find South
Africa on the verge of the great war which was to
decide its future. The conditions which led up to the
Raid had steadily become worse during the years
that had intervened since he resigned the Premier-
ship. The temporary advantage given to President
Kruger by' that mistaken movement had confirmed
him in the resolution to resist all concessions; had
kindled anew the hope of Dutch supremacy over the
whole country. To the very last Rhodes refused to
believe that his rival would push his obstinacy and
his ambitions to the final arbitrament of arms. He
was undeceived when the Boer ultimatum of Octo-
ber 9, 1899, directly challenged the right of the
British Government to move its own troops on its
own territory, and so made war inevitable.

1 The (Mocker, May, 1903.

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THE FOUNDER 73

When the war broke out, Rhodes threw himself
into Kimberley, which he knew would be'one of the
first points of attack. He did this against the urgent
advice of his friends, some of whom feared for a life
so valuable to South Africa; some that his presence
would provoke a sharper attack on the besieged
city. But feeling that Kimberley had made his for-
tune, he considered it a point of honour to share any
trial or danger the city had to undergo. When his
train reached Kimberley the investment had already
begun, and he narrowly escaped capture. For four
months he shared the perils of the siege, which was
pressed with the greatest vigour because one of the
principal fruits of victory would be the capture of
Rhodes himself. He threw the same energy into the
defence, of which he was on all sides felt to be the
life and soul, as he did into the other business of life.

His chief attention was directed to finding food
and employment for the many thousands of workers
in his mines, whose presence greatly increased the
danger that the town might be reduced by starva-
tion. At a large expense to himself and his company
the white workers were kept on full wages as a fight-
ing force; many thousands of the natives were em-
ployed, within the large area invested, in making
avenues and plantations which now add to the

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74 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

attractions and comfort of the mining town. When
the artillery fire from exceptionally heavy guns
threatened a panic, he arranged that twenty-five
hundred women and children should have shelter in
the shafts and galleries of the mines. With the aid of
a brilliant young American engineer, named Labram,
he even managed to produce from the workshops of
the De Beers Company a piece of artillery to match
that of the assailants, much to the encouragement of
a garrison and population whose endurance had been
severely tried.

The prolonged strain of the Kimberley siege seri-
ously affected his health, and aggravated the weak-
ness of the heart from which he had for some years
suffered. He had long known that his days were
numbered, but his friends hoped that rest and care
might yet give him a few years of life. The know-
ledge that his time was short increased his impa-
tience to get things done.

As the war was drawing to a close, his hopes of a
South African federation flamed up anew.

All contention will be over Pie said, in a speech at
Kimberley in February, 1900], with the recognition of
equal rights for every civilized man south of the Zambesi.
That principle, for which we have been so long striving, is
the crux of the present struggle, and my belief is that,

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THE FOUNDER 75

when the war is over, a targe number of the Dutch in this
country will throw in their lot with us on this basis, that
neither race shall claim any right of preference over the
other. We have no feeling against them. We have lived
with them, shot with them, and we find, owing I suppose
to the race affinity, that there is not much difference be-
tween us. But they have been misled in Pretoria and
Bloemfontein, and even in Cape Town.

The event has proved that so far as the political
unification of South Africa is concerned he was right.
The real unification will depend on the degree to
which the large-minded views of Rhodes prevail and
die sincerity with which the rulers of the country
from time to time try to give them effect.

Nor in speaking of equal rights did he exclude the
black man. Asked his opinion directly at about this
same time by a deputation of coloured people he
scribbled down his faith on a bit of newspaper: —

My motto is — Equal rights for every civilized man
south of the Zambesi. What is a civilized man? — A
man, whether black or white, who has sufficient education
to write his name, has some property or works, in fact, is
not a loafer.

After a brief visit to England in 1900 he hurried
back to Rhodesia, going by sea from Cape Town, as
the railway to the north was still blocked by the war.
There he spent several months, visiting every part

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76 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

of the country, and pressing forward works that he
thought would be of advantage to the settlers. The
vision of what his northern country was to be grew
upon him as he worked. He took every opportunity
of pointing out to the people that the rule of the
Chartered Company was only a temporary expedi-
ent: that they one day would be a self-governing
community, and that they must prepare themselves
to take a large and honourable place in the united
South Africa which was already coming in sight.

Meanwhile in Cape Colony, which had been placed
under martial law on account of rebellion in the
Dutch districts, and where a suspension of the con-
stitution had been seriously considered, the thoughts
of the English and of the more moderate Dutch
Electors were beginning to turn to him as the one
man who could reconcile differences and restore the
fortunes of the country, shattered as they were by
the prolonged strife. There seems little doubt that a
short time would have seen him restored to his old
place of power and influence as the driving force of
the continent. But that was not to be. The greater
part of 1901 was spent in a search for health in Scot-
land, Italy, and Egypt.

Early in 1902, in opposition to urgent medical
advice, he returned to South Africa. He knew that

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THE FOUNDER 77

his life was at stake in doing so, but he resolutely
accepted the risk. His name had been forged for
considerable sums under circumstances which made
him feel that his honour was engaged in having
the facts made clear by his personal evidence. The
voyage through the tropics at a trying season and
an exceptionally hot summer at the Cape proved
more than his overstrained system could endure.
After some weeks of intense suffering he died, on
March 26, 1902, at Muizenburg, on the seacoast, in
a small cottage to which he had been accustomed to
go for the benefit of the sea air. To the last he toiled
to round off the tasks to which he had set bis hand.
"So much to do — so little done" — were almost
the last articulate words of one who had compressed
into a short life so much more than is usually given
to man to accomplish.

Amid extraordinary demonstrations of public
feeling in every place through which they passed,
his remains were conveyed nearly two thousand
miles from the Cape to the place where he wished to
be buried amid the solitude of the Matopos, in the
heart of the land that he had saved for civilization,
and near the place where his courage had quelled
the Matabele Rebellion.

There he was laid to rest in a grave excavated

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78 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

from the solid granite of a hill which, from its im-
pressive grandeur, he had named "The World's
View," and on which he had often spent long hours
of solitary contemplation. A multitude of the pion-
eers of the country, with representatives drawn
from many parts of South Africa, were gathered in
this wild spot to do honour to his memory. From
the mountain slopes around thousands of natives
looked on, and at a signal from their chiefs gave the
royal salute of their race, never before, it was said,
uttered in honour of a white man.

In this strange scene and to this strange gathering
was read for the first time the verse in which his
friend Rudyard Kipling tells us what manner of
man Cecil Rhodes seemed to be to those who knew
him best — what he meant to South Africa, and how
men's imaginations were touched by the things he
had done and the things of which he had dreamed.

When that great Kings return to day,

Or Emperors in their pride,
Grief of a day shall fill a day

Because its creature died.
But we, we mourn him not with those

Whom the mere fates ordain —
This power that wrought on us and goes

Back to the power again.

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THE FOUNDER

Dreamer devout by vision led

Beyond our guess or reach,
The travail of his spirit bred

Cities in place of speech.
So buge the all-mastering thought that drove,

So brief the term allowed —
Nations, not words, he linked to prove

His faith before the crowd.

It is his will that he look forth

Across the land he won.
The granite of the ancient North,

Great spaces washed with sun.
There shall he patient make his seat

(As when the death be dared),
And there await a people's feet

In the paths that he prepared.

There, rill the vision he foresaw

Splendid and whole arise.
And uniinagined Empires draw

To council 'neath his skies,
The immense and brooding spirit still

Shall quicken and control.
Living he was the land, and dead

His soul shall be her soul! *

Ten years later, on July 5, 1912, the annivers-
ary of his birth, a great gathering of South Africans,
English and Dutch, met on the slopes of Table

1 Acknowledgment is made to Mr. Rudyard Kipling and to Messrs.
Methiten & Co. for permission to reprint the above poem.

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80 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Mountain to dedicate to the memory of Rhodes a
noble monument, conceived and executed as a labor
of love by artists of distinction, and contributed to
by friends and admirers from all parts of the sub-
continent.

Lord Grey had come from England to give the de-
dication address. A few passages from that address
may fittingly close this short sketch of the life of
the founder of the Rhodes Scholarships, since they
represent the slowly maturing judgment of history
on the man and his work.

This memorial has been erected in loving and grateful
memory of Cecil Rhodes by many mourners from all
parts of South Africa. It has been placed in the very
shadow of the mountain that he loved so well. It fronts
that beautiful and extensive view which never failed
either to soothe or to exhilarate his brooding spirit, and
standing here in sight of his old home, where the very
atmosphere seems to speak of him, it would be almost
presumption in me to enter into the details of a career
with which many of those present to-day were person-
ally familiar, and with which all of you are so well ac-
quainted. For my part, I approach the task which has
been entrusted to me from a double standpoint — from
the standpoint of one who had the good fortune to be
admitted by Rhodes during the last ten years of his life
into the privileged circle of his friends, and from the
standpoint of one who believes that the verdict of his-
tory will be that no man born during the last century

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THE FOUNDER 81

exercised a greater influence for good on the character of
the present century than the Thinker and Builder to
whose outlook and inspiration we desire formally to-day
to dedicate our devoted homage.

Like so many whom the gods love, Rhodes died young,
but do not let us for that reason make the mistake of
calling bis end premature. From the grave he speaks to
us with even greater force than if he were still alive. The
span of days should be measured, not by their number,
but by the value of the ideas given to the world, and
judged by such a standard, who shall venture to Bet a
limit to the length of Rhodes's life?

There were obstacles enough in Rhodes's path besides
ill-health, but the physical weakness which added so
much to the difficulties of bis task, and finally lulled him
in the prime of life, together with the memories of his
heroic endeavour and unswerving purpose, will help the
more to kindle the imagination of the generations to
come, for whose sake his work was undertaken, and to
whose service it was Rhodes's glorious privilege to devote
his brain, his heart, his energies, and his life.

This monument has been erected to Cecil Rhodes be-
cause of the affection he inspired in so many, because of
the pride South Africa feels in claiming him as essentially
her own, and because it is recognised that his name stands
for a great truth, as welt as for an inspiring ideal. What
is the great truth? It is that in the field of moral en-
deavour, however adverse the circumstances, there is no
limit to the ultimate horizon of a sworn purpose. If you
doubt it, turn, as Rhodes himself so often did, to history,

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82 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

which is full of apparent impossibilities accomplished by
individuals, equipped with no other arms but those of
earnestness and faith. This monument will add one more
chapter to the story of unselfish effort and of heroic
achievement, and will teach, with, I trust, increasing
emphasis, to noble-minded South Africans yet unborn a
lesson of service and of belief in the future of South
Africa and the Empire. I have said that the monument
embodies not only a great truth, but an inspiring ideal.
It was the unswerving aim of Rhodes's life to substitute
the law of Justice, Freedom, and Peace, the triple basis
of our Christian civilisation, for barbarism in the dark
places of Africa, and to establish, so far as possible, per-
manent peace between the civilised nations of the world.
The steps which were to lead to the realisation of these
splendid hopes were: (i) The unity of South Africa; (■)
the unity of the British Empire ; (3) the union of the Anglo-
Saxon and Celtic peoples.

This faith was his inseparable companion through life
— the last vision before his dying eyes, and found per-
manent expression in his will. But Rhodes was not merely
a dreamer, a visionary enthusiast and idealist; he was
much more — he was a practical idealist — a builder, a
creator, who saw his means as clearly as his end.

I now dedicate in all reverence this splendid monument
to the Spirit of Cecil Rhodes, in the hope and belief and
with a fervent prayer that its influence will promote the
peace, happiness, and greatness of South Africa, and the
Glory of Almighty God.

It is a monument which speaks to us, not of a dead man.

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THE FOUNDER 83

but of a living force. Everywhere the traveller goes in
South Africa he finds this force, and what impresses him *
even more than the material signs of Rhodes's handi-
work, which are everywhere conspicuous, even more than
the vast territory that bears bis name, is the new spirit
that he sees in the hearts of men. If you are wise, you will
cherish this spirit which is Rhodes's own as your most
precious heritage, and you will never forget that when
the vision fades the City Perisheth.

Note. A copious literature exists for consultation by any one who
may wish to study in detail the life of Rhodes and the historic events
with which he was connected. It is perhaps sufficient to mention the
following works: —
The Life of the Right Hon. Cecil John Rhodes. By the Hon. Sir Lewis

Michell. London: Edward Arnold, 1910. New York: Mitchell

Kennerley, 191 o.
Cecil Rhodes: His Private Life by His Private Secretary — Philip

Jourdan. London: John Lane. New York: John Lane Company,

I9ir.
The Right Honourable Cecil John Rhodes: A Monograph and a

Reminiscence. By Sir T.E. Fuller, K.C.M.G. London, New York,

Bombay, and Calcutta: Longmans, Green and Company, 1910.
Cecil Rhodes: His Political Life and Speeches, 1881-1900. Edited by

"Vindex." London: Chapman and Hall, 1900.
The Last Will and Testament of Cecil John Rhodes. Edited by W. T.
i; Stead. London: Review of Reviews Office, 1902.

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CHAPTER II

THE WILL

The Will of Cecil Rhodes has touched the imag-
ination of the world more, perhaps, than any other
testamentary disposition of wealth made in modern
times.

It embodies the thoughts of a man whose ideal of
life was public service and who looked upon wealth
as a trust to be used for the public good. The spirit
of patriotism which inspired it; the touch of wider
idealism which gave it a distinction altogether sin-
gular; the striking part which the Testator himself
had played in the drama of British national life; the
divergent views entertained about the motives by
which he was actuated, all contributed to throw a
glamour of strange interest over the plans by which
he proposed to perpetuate and project on the future
of the world the ideas which had absorbed his busy
brain during his short lifetime. These ideas did not
come to him merely in later life; they possessed him
from the very beginning of his active career, con-
stituted the basis of his personal ambition, and in-

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THE WILL 85

spired the untiring energy which he threw into the
work of life. A succession of wills, alt looking to the
same end, beginning at a time when he had little
to dispose of but ideas, and gradually enlarging in
scope as his wealth increased and his views wid-
ened, makes this clear beyond any gainsaying.
These wills were drawn up respectively in 1 877,
1882, 1888, and 1891, and were all inspired by the
same central idea — the widening of Anglo-Saxon
influence with a view to securing the peace of the
world.

During the later years of his life, when he suffered
much from misrepresentation as well as from the
natural result of mistakes which be himself freely
admitted, it was, as he imparted to friends, a consola-
tion to him to know that the final disposition which
he had made of his wealth would make even his
severest critics understand the principles by which
he had been actuated. But it is essential to remem-
ber that this final Will is consistent with those
which had preceded it, that it was no late atone-
ment for errors, as some have supposed, but was the
realization of lifelong dreams persistently pursued.

The great and original conception of his Scholar-
ship System is the feature in the Will of Rhodes
which has most struck the popular imagination, and

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86 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

ia that which is to be specially considered here.
But in other particulars also it is a remarkable docu-
ment, stamped in all its parts by the individuality
of the Testator.

His choice of a burial-place in the heart of the
Matopos, amidst the rugged grandeur of which he
had so often spent long periods of solitary con-
templation, and his wish that the spot should become
a kind of Valhalla for those who had deserved well
of South Africa, marked the separateness of his mind
and the ideals he cherished about the country to
which he had devoted his life.

Carefully thought-out: plans for the general good
marked the great gifts which he made to the people
of South Africa. To use for the benefit of the public
of Rhodesia he bequeathed to his trustees two large
estates, each of about a hundred thousand acres.
To one of these estates near Bulawayo, he attached
an endowment of four thousand pounds per annum
in order that it might be "planted with every pos-
sible tree," and maintained as a park to which a rail-
way was to be built "so that the people of Bulawayo
may enjoy the glory of the Matopos from Saturday
to Monday." On a part of this property he had al-
ready expended nearly thirty thousand pounds to
demonstrate the value of irrigation.

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THE WILL 87

To the Inyanga estate an endowment of two
thousand pounds a year was added in order that it
might be cultivated as an experimental farm for the
instruction of the people of Rhodesia in forestry,
gardening, fruit farming, and irrigation, and, if
possible, the creation of an agricultural college. t

The splendid public avenue more than a mile long
that leads to his Bulawayo residence, now that of the
visiting Directors of the Chartered Company, as
well as those made under his direction to adorn the
town of Kimberley, illustrate the scale on which his
mind worked when planning for the pleasure or wel-
fare of the public. So also the fruit farms which
he established on a vast scale in the Great Draken-
stein district of Cape Colony at great expense (the
land alone having cost him about one hundred and
fifty thousand pounds), though not bequeathed to
the public by his Will, were really planned for the
public good, to demonstrate the capabilities of the
country for fruit culture.

Once more, the large estate of Groote Schuur,
established under the shadow and along the slopes
of Table Mountain, and on the beautifying of which
his wealth was lavished, he left as a public park for
the enjoyment of the people of Cape Town. The
charming home, Groote Schuur, attached to this

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88 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

estate, built in the Dutch style of architecture, and
stamped in every detail with the refined and simple
taste of its owner, he left as a residence for the
Prime Minister of the united South Africa of which
he dreamed. To the bequest he added an endow-
ment to make sure that this official residence of the
first Minister of the Crown in South Africa should
always be maintained with becoming dignity. That
the first occupant to whom the Trustees handed
over the place should have been a man of Dutch
descent and leader of the Boer forces in the great
war, accords well with the views entertained by
Rhodes throughout his lifetime as to the necessity of
friendly reconciliation and co-operation for the com-
mon good of the two white races who occupy South
Africa.

His affection for his old College at Oxford, Oriel,
he marked by a gift of one hundred thousand
pounds, partly for the extension of the College
buildings; partly to improve the income of "Such
of the resident Fellows of the College as work for the
honour and dignity of the College," and partly to
"maintain the dignity and comfort of the High
Table," that feature of Oxford Colleges which does
so much to stamp their character. Even in thus
giving expression to his College loyalty his practical

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THE WILL 89

business mind was on the alert, since he adds: "As
the College authorities live secluded from the world
and so are like children as to commercial matters,
I would advise them to consult my Trustees as to
the investment of these various funds." In this I
think he did some injustice to the business training
which Oxford Fellows often get in the management
of their considerable College estates.

The Will has yet another striking and characteris-
tic feature. He had no belief in the dead hand, even
if that hand were his own. While the Scholarship
System is made a Trust, the remainder of his large
fortune, beyond the sums assigned to special pur-
poses, was left personally to a chosen group of
friends' to be used at their absolute discretion in
working out the plans about South Africa and the
Empire which had filled his mind when alive. He
wished these friends to be quite unhampered in
using their judgment as to the best way in which
this could be effected, according to the change of
time and circumstances. When pressed by one of
them to define his wishes precisely, he refused, add-
ing jocularly: "You know what my ideas are; see
that you carry them out ; if you don't, I '11 come back

1 Lord Rosebery, Lord Grey, Lord Milner, Sir Starr Jameson,
Sir Lewi* Michel), Bonrcbier F. Hawlaley, Esq., Alfred Beit, Esq.

^Google

90 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

and worry you." In the matter of the Scholarships
he left his Trustees with as free a hand as possible
in regard to administration, confining his directions
chiefly to a general statement of principles.

Even the provision made for his family had its
public aspect, and a strongly practical bent. Be-
cause he believed that one of the secrets of England's
strength was in the country landlord who spent
time and trouble in caring for the interests of those
on his property, and in the existence of hereditary
estates capable of maintaining in dignity and com-
fort the head of a family, he secured such an estate
in the first place as a residence for himself when in
England and afterwards to be held in strict entail.
But the conditions of the entail illustrated the prac-
tical turn of his mind. Lest inherited position of this
kind should produce a "loafer," he made it a con-
dition that no heir should become entitled to the full
enjoyment of the property unless he had for ten con-
secutive years at least been engaged in some profes-
sion or business.

Practical, patriotic, and interesting as were these
dispositions of his property, the endowment of his
Scholarship System strikes a still higher note, and
illustrates the wider range of his thought.

What the motive of the endowment was is best

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THE WILL 91

expressed in the Testator's own words. They have
long been public property, but the essential clauses
will bear repetition. He says: —

Whereas I consider the education of young Colonists at
one of the Universities in the United Kingdom is of great
advantage to them for giving breadth to their views, for
their instruction in life and manners, and for instilling
into their minds the advantage to the Colonies as well as
to the United Kingdom of the retention of the unity of
the Empire. And whereas in the case of young Colonists
studying at a University in the United Kingdom I attach
very great importance to the University having a resi-
dential system such as is in force at the Universities of
Oxford and Cambridge for without it those students
are at the most critical period of their lives left without
any supervision. . . . And whereas my own University
the University of Oxford has such a system. . . . And
whereas I also desire to encourage and foster an appreci-
ation of the advantages which I implicitly believe will
result from the union of the English-speaking peoples
throughout the world and to encourage in the students
from the United States of North America who will benefit
from the American Scholarships to be established for the
reason above given at the University of Oxford under this
my Will an attachment to the country from which they
have sprung but without I, hope withdrawing them or
their sympathies from the land of their adoption or birth.
Now therefore I direct my Trustees as soon as may be
after my death and either simultaneously or gradually as
they shall find convenient and if gradually (hen in such

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92 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS *

order as they shall think fit to establish for male students
the Scholarships hereinafter directed to be established
each of which shall be of the yearly value of £300 and be
, tenable at any College in the University of Oxford for
three consecutive Academical years.

I direct my Trustees to establish certain Scholarships,
and these Scholarships I sometimes hereinafter refer to as
" the Colonial Scholarships."

These Scholarships so endowed are sixty in num-
ber, and have since been increased to sixty-six by the
Trustees, in order to fill up some obvious and ap-
parently unintentional omissions. Under this head
all the self-governing Colonies of the Empire are
provided for, and some others. An annual Scholar-
ship is given to each Province of Canada, each
State of Australia, to New Zealand, Newfoundland,
Natal, Jamaica, and Bermuda. To Cape Colony,
of which he was Prime Minister, he gave four
Scholarships annually, and to the country which
bears his own name, Rhodesia, he gave three each
year. This allocation of Scholarships followed
closely his thought as expressed in his earlier wills
when he looked chiefly to his own nation as the
agency through which he expected to work. His
plans had their genesis in patriotic devotion to the
British Empire and belief in its influence on the
world for good.

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THE WILL - 93

Rhodes knew both English and Colonial life, the
strength and weakness of each, and he wished the
■ Empire to draw from both the best they had to
give. He saw Colonial youth made vigorous by the
rougher conditions of a new country, by life in the
open air, by freedom from conventionality, youth
accustomed to ride, to shoot, to work, to be self-
reliant, but somewhat narrowed in view by a provin-
cial life, and missing somewhat the graces of manner
and culture which an older society develops, and
which promote easy intercourse and open . doors
closed to those who do not possess them. He be-
lieved that if he could add the finish and breadth of
view that an older society can give to this rougher
vigour of the Colonist, he would be doing what was
best for these new lands. He equally believed that
the youth of the mother country, moulded in the
grooves of an ancient and conservative social system,
would be benefited by intercourse with these pro-
ducts of the wider breathing-space of new conti-
nents. He held that if the youngjnen who are to
rule the various quarters of the Empire — Canada,
Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, the United
Kingdom — in the next generation, could become
familiar with each other in their youth, and by an
education in common grow into mutual understand-

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94 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

ing, it would go far to solve the problem of united
action when the need should arise. In planning his
Colonial Scholarships his aim was unquestionably
to forward the unification of the British Empire.
But in working for this end he firmly believed that
he was working for the good of mankind.

With enlarged experience and wider study of the
world, his vision expanded, but still on lines of race
and blood. The immense development of the United
States as a world-power struck his imagination. He
saw that in spite of the constant inflow of varied
population the Anglo-Saxon element in that coun-
try maintained its controlling influence. He bitterly
criticised the lack of wisdom in the policy which orig-
inally produced the great schism of the race. A
paper exists in which he argues vehemently that
America and England would alike have been the
better for working out their destiny together by the
same process of evolution as that by which in later
times free Colonial development has been consist-
ent with national unity. But as the ill was done and
the clock of history could not be turned back, then
it was, he claimed, a first duty of statesmanship in
our day to draw into bonds of closest sympathy and
understanding those who had been politically di-
vorced. Hence it was that, rising from a national

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THE WILL 95

to a still wider point of view, he arranged for
the distribution of Scholarships as freely among
students of the United States as among those of the
Dominions and Colonies of the Empire.

The following are the terms in which the appro-
priation is made : —

I further direct my Trustees to establish additional
Scholarships sufficient in number for the appropriation
in the next following clause hereof directed and those
Scholarships I sometimes hereinafter refer to as the
" American Scholarships."

I appropriate two of the American Scholarships to each
of the present States and Territories of the United States
of North America provided that if any of the said Terri-
tories shall in my lifetime be admitted as a State the
Scholarships appropriated to such Territory shall be
appropriated to such State and that my Trustees may in
their uncontrolled discretion withhold for such time as
they shall think fit, the appropriation of Scholarships to
any Territory.

I direct that of the two Scholarships appropriated to a
State or Territory not more than one shall be filled up in
any year so that at no time shall more than two Scholar-
ships be held for the same State or Territory.

The Scholarships shall be paid only out of income and
in the event at any time of income being insufficient for
payment in full of all the Scholarships for the time being
payable I direct that (without prejudice to the vested
interests of holders for the time being of Scholarships) the

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96 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

following order of priority shall regulate the payment of
Scholarships.

In this scale of priority the Scholarships for Rho-
desia are placed first, those for Cape Colony sec-
ond, the other Colonial Scholarships third, and
those for America last.

The Scholarships given annually to Germany
were added as a codicil to the original will. In work-
ing out his plans for telegraphic and railway com-
munication through the heart of the Dark Conti-
nent, Rhodes found it necessary to treat with the
German Government for a right of way through the
German Protectorate in East Africa, which, abut-
ting upon the Congo Protectorate near Lake Tan-
ganyika, blocks the way between the African areas
under British control. With characteristic direct-
ness he went to Berlin and laid his plans before the
Emperor himself. His reception was extremely cor-
dial, and the necessary powers were readily granted.
Of this interview and arrangement he gave an ac-
count soon after in an address to the shareholders of
the Chartered Company.

I was fortunate enough, through the kindness of the
German people, and owing to the character of the German
Emperor, who, whatever might have been his feelings in
the past as to certain little incidents, which resulted very

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THE WILL 97

unsatisfactorily to myself, and which he deemed it right
to censure, still is a broad-minded man. Therefore, when
it came to the question of the development of Africa, and
when I appealed to him in connection with the portion of
Africa which is under his rule, he met one with a breadth
of mind which was admirable, and afforded one every
help to carry out one's plan, while duly safeguarding
the interests of his people. I signed an agreement with
bis Ministers within three days, providing for the right of
the telegraph being extended throughout his territory;
and though at the end of forty years the line passes into
the possession of the Germans, still they are willing to
maintain our through line at actual cost. It was a most
just bargain on their part. . . .

Soon after his return from Berlin, newly im-
pressed, no doubt, with the value of personal com-
munication in the management of national affairs,
and noting that the German Emperor had made in-
struction in English compulsory in German schools,
he assigned five Scholarships of two hundred and
fifty pounds a year each annually to Germany,
leaving the nomination of the Scholars in the hands
of the Emperor. The reason for the addition of
German Scholarships to those assigned to the Em-
pire and the United States is given in the Will with
simple directness: —

The object is that an understanding between the three

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98 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

great Powers will render war impossible and educational
relations make the strongest tie.

Such is the international scope of this remarkable
testament — the contribution of a singularly orig-
inal and powerful mind to the solution of the world's
problems. It was arrived at in the mind of its
Founder by a long process of evolution, the original
motive of which was intense conviction — the
moving spring a far-reaching idealism which gath-
ered strength and direction as his outlook on the
world widened.

The directions and suggestions given in the Will
for the selection of Scholars remain to be mentioned.
In their final form they read as follows: —

My desire being that the students who shall be elected
to the Scholarships shall not be merelybookworms I direct
that in the election of a student to a Scholarship regard
shall be had to (i) his literary and scholastic attainments
(ii) his fondness of and success in manly outdoor sports
such as cricket football and the like (iii) his qualities of
manhood truth courage devotion to duty sympathy for
the protection of the weak kindliness unselfishness and
fellowship and (iv) his exhibition during school days of
moral force of character and of instincts to lead and to
take an interest in his schoolmates for those latter attri-
butes will be likely in after life to guide him to esteem the
performance of public duties as his highest aim % As mere

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THE WILL 99

suggestions for the guidance of those who will have the
choice of students for the Scholarships I record that (i)
my ideal qualified student would combine these four
qualifications in the proportions of 3-ioths for the first
2-ioths for the second 3-iOths for the third and 2-ioths
for the fourth qualification so that according to my ideas
if the maximum number of marks for any Scholarship
were 300 they would be apportioned as follows — 60 to
each of the first and third qualifications and 40 to each of
the second and fourth qualifications (ii) the marks for the
several qualifications would be awarded independently as
follows (that is to say) the marks for the first qualification
by examination for the second and third qualifications
respectively by ballot by the fellow students of the candi-
dates and for the fourth qualification by the head master
of the candidate's school and (in) the results of the awards
(that is to say the marks obtained by each candidate for
each qualification) would be sent as soon as possible for
consideration to the Trustees or to some person or persons
appointed to receive the same and the person or persons
so appointed would ascertain by averaging the marks in
blocks of so marks each of all candidates the best ideal
qualified students.

No student shall be qualified or disqualified for
election to a Scholarship on account of his race or
religious opinions.

Except in the cases of the four schools hereinbefore
mentioned the election to Scholarships shall be by the
Trustees after such [if any] consultation as they shall
think fit with the Minister having the control of educa-
tion in such Colony Province State or Territory.

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ioo THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

It will be seen that in this outline of his views
Rhodes introduces new features into the competi-
tion for University Scholarships. For the most
part such competitions have hitherto been decided
on grounds of intellectual superiority alone. Power
of thought and literary skill in giving thought ex-
pression, combined with a glutinous memory for
Greek verbs, Latin idioms, modern languages, alge-
braic formulae, scientific facts, and the like have fur-
nished the best guarantees of successful competi-
tion. Rhodes by no means despised these things,
but he thought of others. With the culture of the
schools he desired to combine the qualities which
make for practical success and moral influence in
life. He wished his Scholars to have a sound body
as well as a clear head. He would have them strong
in character as well as in reasoning power — in
short, all-round men in body, mind, and spirit. It
was not even chiefly for the sake of the sound body
that Rhodes laid stress upon athletic tastes and
habits. Those who knew him best affirm that he
had much more in his mind the moral discipline
given by games as he had seen them played at the
great Public Schools and Universities of England;
the training in fair play, the absence of all trickery,
the chivalrous yielding of advantage to an opponent,

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THE WILL 101

the acceptance of defeat with cheerfulness and of
victory without boastfulness — in short, putting
"the game before the prize." A friend who fre-
quently discussed the question with him has told
me that he dwelt upon the .character-moulding in-
fluence of games almost as if it were a religious test
that he wished to be applied to his Scholars.

It will be shown in succeeding chapters that con-
siderable difficulty has been met with in applying
the tests outlined by these ideas and suggestions of
Rhodes. In some particulars and under some cir-
cumstances it has proved impracticable to do this
satisfactorily. His knowledge of educational and
athletic conditions in different countries was limited;
he probably did not understand the vast geography
with which he proposed to deal or the huge popula-
tions and various institutions from which his Schol-
ars were sometimes to be extracted. But he left his
Trustees a free hand in dealing with details, and
he has furnished a splendid ideal towards which, as
time passes and experience is gained, those who ad-
minister the Trust, and those whose aid they have
to employ in selecting the Scholars, may steadily
work.

Even if we consider the scheme merely as a monu-
ment to the Founder himself it is unique in this,

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102 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

that it is a monument to be gradually built up of
living men, inspired by the thought of service to
their fellows, and especially equipped for doing this
service. Whether the aims he had in view will be
acccomplished is a question that the centuries alone
can answer. Nations take long to grow; the influ-
ences that move them operate slowly and almost
imperceptibly. Rhodes himself was essentially a
practical man, and no doubt knew .well that any
means he had at his disposal were not of themselves
adequate to the vast purposes of national consolida-
tion and international conciliation that were in his
mind. But he thought that he might at least give
an impulse to a great cause; his hope was that
others might imitate his example, and that thus
forces would be set in motion more powerful than
any he had at his own command. Still one may be
allowed to doubt if there is in the world to-day in
operation any scheme more nobly planned for the
realization of a large and generous object. By the
liberality of its provisions it has opened up oppor-
tunities to a large body of selected young men in all
coming generations such as have never before been
enjoyed by any similar body of youth in the world.
The majority of the Rhodes Scholars will doubt-
less be ordinary men, doing with some consider-

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THE WILL 103

able advantage of preparatory training and with
widened outlook the 1 world's ordinary work. Prob-
ably Rhodes did not expect more. But the inspira-
tion of a great idea gives significance to any work or
any worker, and he will be a poor Scholar who, after
enjoying for three years what has been provided for
him, is not touched with some spark of the divine
fire, the devotion to world service, which burned in
the spirit of the Founder. And we may fairly hope
that once in a while there will be found the excep-
tional man in whom that flame will be brought to a
white heat, helping him to "lift the world's heart
higher."

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CHAPTER III

THE UNIVERSITY AND THE COLLEGES

The first necessary step in giving effect to the Be-
quest of Mr. Rhodes was to ascertain the attitude
of Oxford University itself and of its various Col-
leges towards his proposal. To understand the dis-
tinction thus implied it is necessary to know some-
thing of the peculiar organization of the University.
As a teaching and degree-granting body it must
be considered apart from the twenty-one Colleges
grouped around it, each of which is an independent,
self-governing community, owning its own property,
exercising domestic discipline, and giving instruc-
tion in its own way, but without any power of giv-
ing degrees. Unlike most Colonial and American
universities, Oxford has no fixed entrance standard.
Any of its colleges is free to determine its own con-
ditions of entrance, and to accept or reject appli-
cants at pleasure. When a College has accepted a
student it presents his name to the University, and
he is, without further question, entered upon the
list of Matriculants. On the other hand, the Uni-

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THE UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGES 105

versity requires that every Matriculant shall be
presented to it by either a College or the Delegacy
for non-collegiate students, thus fixing responsibil-
ity; it exercises very considerable powers of gen-
eral discipline over all undergraduates, furnishes
professorial and other teaching, and guards rigidly
by examination every stage of the student's advance
towards a degree.

From what had been said it will be seen that the
University, as such, could do little more than give
a general approval to the Scholarship Scheme. This
it did with the greatest cordiality. Such a tribute
of affectionate loyalty from a man of affairs as that
expressed to Oxford in the Will of Mr. Rhodes, few
institutions of learning have ever received. The
confidence in its moulding power, implied in com-
mitting to the care of the University, for centuries
to come, selected representatives of the Anglo-
Saxon and German world, for the realization of a
great ideal, was a rare and profound compliment.
That Oxford should have two hundred students
more or less is a small matter, but that she should
have inspired such confidence in the heart and mind
of one old pupil ; that a great empire-builder should
have picked her out to be the home of his far-reach-
ing plans, to be a centre of national and interna-

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106 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

tional influence, was a very great matter, even for
an ancient university already rich in inspiring tra-
ditions. Oxford's outlook on the world was already
wide. Statesmen and rulers she had long sent in
numbers to every part of a vast Empire. But a
scheme which opened a possibility for chosen youth
of the whole Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic world to
learn their lessons at her feet was, even for her, a
wonderful widening of opportunity which she heart-
ily welcomed. Approval was only tempered by
some slight regret that no part of the endowment
could be applied to strengthen the teaching power
of the University, called upon as it would be by
the Bequest to undertake enlarged responsibilities,
and by some doubt whether the unusual conditions
on which the selection of Scholars was to be made
could be successfully worked.

The question of receiving the Rhodes Scholars
was, however, really one for the different Colleges —
not for the University — to decide, and hence they
were consulted individually as to their willingness to
accept Scholars sent to them by the Trust, the con-
ditions of entrance on which they would insist, and
the numbers they would be able to receive. It must
be remembered that in a residential system such as
that of Oxford a student becomes an intimate and *

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THE UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGES 107

important unit in the community which he joins.
Its members live together for some years in the
same group of buildings, dine in a common hall, have
a place of common worship, are united very closely
in sports and various forms of social intercourse,
submit to the same discipline, are all concerned in
maintaining the tone and prestige of their own Col- '
lege in comparison with others around it. Indeed,
its esprit de corps, the closeness of the bond that
binds the members together, is no bad index to the
healthy condition of an Oxford College and the
influence that it exercises. In a community so con-
stituted care is naturally taken to know as much as
possible of the antecedents and character of those
who apply for entrance. The close connection of the
University with the greater and smaller secondary
schools of the United Kingdom makes it compara-
tively easy to get this knowledge about home stu-
dents. It is not so easy in the case of students drawn
from distant parts of the world, and almost the only
hesitation felt by the Colleges was in this regard.
They pointed out that when compelled to rusticate,
expel, or otherwise discipline home students who
proved unsatisfactory, communication with parents
or guardians could easily be arranged; but in the
case of Scholars coming from remote points this

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108 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

would be impossible, and would greatly increase the
responsibility of the Colleges. It was represented
to them, however, that the conditions laid down for
the election of Scholars were such as gave strong
assurance that only men of character as well as abil-
ity would be selected, and it was in this expectation
that all the Colleges agreed to take a certain number
of men on the recommendation of the Trust. It need
hardly be added that this fact imposes a grave
responsibility upon the Trust itself, and on the men
who accept the Scholarships. The very few cases in
which elected Scholars have failed to realize the
expectations formed about them in point of charac-
ter have been the only painful feature connected
with the work of administration.

Under the arrangements finally made the larger
Colleges are to receive four or five a year, and as a
rule the number in others is proportionate to the size
of the College. This plan falls in with the wishes of
Mr. Rhodes, who wisely desired that his Scholars
should be distributed among all the Colleges of the
University. As their accommodations are strictly
limited, and as' the pressure upon the University
increases year by year, most Colleges having their
entry list for each October filled up months before-
hand, the willingness to receive and provide for a

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THE UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGES 109

steady inflow of Rhodes men is a thing for which the
Trust and Scholars alike have reason to be grateful.

The conditions of entrance vary somewhat in the
different Colleges. In their ordinary practice the
great majority of them prefer that applicants shall
at or before entrance pass Responsions, 1 the name
given to the first public examination of the Univer-
sity. Other Colleges allow students to postpone this
examination till some time has been spent in resid-
ence. All dismiss men who cannot pass it within a
reasonable period. A few refuse students who are
not qualified and willing to read for honours in one
or more of the main subjects of university study.
Others are content to receive men working for the
comparatively easily gained pass degree.

After consultation on these points it was agreed
between the Colleges and the Trust that the ability
to pass Responsions should be the usual minimum
qualification for all candidates for the Scholarships,
temporary allowance being made for a few commun-
ities where the opportunities for education were not
yet sufficiently advanced. Arrangements were made
by which the University should conduct an examina-
tion equivalent to Responsions in behalf of the Trust
in any or all of the communities from which Scholars
are drawn. It is now held regularly in two years out
1 Appendix C

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no THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

of three in every State of the American Union, and
annually in some of the smaller Colonies which have
no alternative means of obtaining the recognition of
Oxford University.

For a large proportion of the Colonial Scholars
there is such an alternative. Under what is known as
the Colonial Universities' Statute it is open to any
university or college within the Empire to apply to
the University of Oxford for admission to the priv-
ileges of this Statute. The University examines the
courses of study and standards of the institution
making the application, and if they are considered
satisfactory, places it by special decree upon the
accepted list. The chief privilege thus conferred is
that students who have taken a full course for two
years at an accepted university are excused from
Responsions. Most Colonial universities have ap-
plied for and been admitted to the privileges of this
Statute, and consequently their students are eligible
for a Scholarship without further examination. In
Colonies which have no college or university thus
accepted, candidates are required to pass Respon-
sions as a first condition of eligibility. A very few
temporary exceptions have been made to this rule.

The case of Scholars from the United States pre-
sented greater difficulties. By what is known as the

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THE UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGES ui

Foreign Universities' Statute, Oxford offers similar
privileges to universities outside the Empire. A few
of the leading American universities have been
placed on the accepted list. But the number of uni-
versity or collegiate institutions in the United States
is so great, and their courses and standards are so
various, that it has proved impossible to apply the
system generally. Candidates for Rhodes Scholar-
ships are therefore required in every case to pass the
usual Responsions test of the University.

Although the Responsions test is the only one ap-
plied directly by the Trust, it must be carefully borne
in mind that this is merely a minimum requirement.
It is infinitely below the standard maintained by
all the Colleges of Oxford in the competition for
their ordinary scholarships of eighty or one hun-
dred pounds per annum. It furnishes no sufficient
grounds for comparison of intellectual merit in
awarding the much more valuable Rhodes Scholar-
ships. The task of making an adequate comparison
between candidates is left to the local Committees
of Selection. To aid them in this work candidates
are required to submit to the Committees a detailed
statement of their educational career at school and
college. This again involves comparison by the
Committees between the standards of attainment

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U2 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

maintained by different institutions. In order to
throw complete responsibility upon the Committees
of Selection the Trust leaves them free to apply any
further intellectual or other tests which they may
deem necessary to form an accurate judgment.

The method by which the Scholars are distributed
among the various Colleges was arranged so as to
give both College and Scholar some range and oppor-
tunity of choice. When a Scholar is elected he is
asked to name a number of the Colleges which he
would like to join in the order of his preference.
When the list of Scholars-elect for the year is com-
plete, the scholastic record, testimonials of charac-
ter, and other detailed information concerning all
applicants for entrance to each College is sent to it-
After study of these credentials the authorities of
the College select, up to the number which they feel
able to accept for that year, those candidates who
seem in their judgment most likely to reflect credit
on their community, either by scholarship or charac-
ter. The names of those not accepted are sent for-
ward to the College of their second preference, and
so on till all are placed. It will be seen that under
this arrangement the past record of a Scholar begins
to count at once when he seeks admission to the
University, while the College authorities are led from

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THE UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGES 113

the first to study critically all his antecedents, and
particularly the value of the credentials given by the
institution from which he comes. The judgment of
those who selected him is thus also submitted to
a test which is continued throughout all his subse-
quent course.

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CHAPTER IV

METHODS OF SELECTION

In the first Circular issued by the Trustees they said
that "their greatest reliance in trying to carry out
the ideas of Mr. Rhodes must be on the conscien-
tious exercise of their judgment by the committees
of Selection in sending to them as Scholars students
of power and promise, and representative types of
the manliness, culture, and character of the com-
munities from which they come." That statement is
permanently true, and will be so long as committees
are used to make choice of Scholars. Complete
confidence on the part of the public and especially
on the part of the whole student body of each com-
munity in the impartiality and ability to discrimin-
ate of those to whom the choice is entrusted, is
absolutely essential to the most successful working
of the Scholarship Scheme. This ideal has not
proved easy of attainment. The creation of selecting
bodies which fulfil this condition has proved in some
communities one of the most difficult of the tasks
with which the Trust has had to deal. It has been

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METHODS OF SELECTION 115

found impossible, also, to devise any common plan
which incorporates all the suggestions of Mr,
Rhodes, and which is adapted to the widely varying
conditions of the seventy-four different communi-
ties from which Scholars are chosen. The circum-
stances of each have therefore been studied, and the
instrument of selection best suited to it has been
adopted, usually on the advice of its educational or
public authorities. The degree of success attained
has varied greatly. Under the usual methods of
intellectual competition by examinations it is al-
ways comparatively easy to select the ablest scholar
from a number of candidates. Under the conditions
suggested by Mr. Rhodes it has not proved so easy
to make sure of the selection of the man who best
satisfies his ideal. The reasons for this arise in part
from the nature of that ideal. Intellectual attain-
ments are readily commensurable; qualities which
represent character and powers of leadership are not.
In a great majority of cases it has been found dif-
ficult, though not always impossible, to make use of
the judgment of fellow students as suggested by Mr.
Rhodes. In large States or Provinces candidates
come from widely separated institutions, so that the
relative value of student opinion in each cannot be
fairly apportioned. A Scholarship is assigned, for

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u6 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

instance, to the State of New York. The State has a
population of more than seven millions of people. It
has three universities with more than four thousand
students each; more than twenty-five colleges
granting degrees; some hundreds of schools giving
university preparation. In such circumstances
selection by the aid of student opinion is manifestly
impossible. Where the award is made from the can-
didates of a single institution, as is done by special
provision of the Will in the schools of Cape Colony,
and where therefore the conditions are more favour-
able for using the vote of fellow-students, the dif-
ficulty has taken another form. The tendency of
school-boys to give a practically unanimous vote to
the school hero in football or cricket has at times
overridden entirely the carefully balanced estimates
of faculty and principal on the other qualities taken
into consideration. So unsatisfactory have been
some decisions so obtained that proposals have been
made by the school authorities that the allotment of
marks in making choice should be placed on a differ-
ent basis. Again, in very large universities, to which
in some cases selection is entrusted, it is impossible
to get an intelligent student verdict on the compara-
tive qualities of individuals probably unknown to
the majority of voters. The truth is that Rhodes

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METHODS OF SELECTION 117

had in his mind selecting bodies in each community
like a great English residential Public School, where
masters and boys live a common life and are in a
position to form a reasonable judgment about the
comparative merits of all competitors. In very few
of the communities to which Scholarships are as-
signed do such institutions exist; in none except in
Cape Colony do they form the whole body from
which selection must be made.

Where a single university represents the higher
educational interests of a State or Province, as in
most of the Australian, and a few American States,
the use of the university in making selection has
proved as satisfactory as any. A faculty, familiar '
with its whole body of students and with the char-
acter and career of each candidate, may usually be
trusted to select its best possible representative.
In several cases impartial lay assistance, such as that
of a Governor, Chief Justice or Judge, where these
are not elective, and so not open to political or party
bias, is used with advantage. Where all the candi-
dates come from a single university of moderate size,
the suggestions of Mr. Rhodes can also be most
easily carried out.

Even where higher education in a large commun-
ity is distributed among two or three leading insti-

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n8 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

tu lions it has been found possible in a few cases to
employ this method with advantage, by allowing
these institutions to appoint in a carefully arranged
rotation, which takes into account their relative
size and influence. This plan has its most general
application in the universities of Canada. But even
there this method of selection must still be regarded
as on its trial. The main objection to it lies in the
fact that for any given year the competition is not
open to all the ablest available candidates in the
whole Province or State, and the best man some-
times finds himself ruled out. On the other hand,
the inclination to appoint by rotation without ex-
clusive reference to merit, as a compromise to satisfy
rival institutions and local interests has proved in
some communities one of the greatest hindrances
to success, and an evil difficult to overcome.

The problem of devising a satisfactory system
generally applicable for the election of Scholars has
presented greater difficulties in the United States
than elsewhere. The reasons for this are various.
For one thing, the forty-eight States and Territories
to which the Scholarships are assigned differ greatly
in the degree and completeness of their educational
organization. In a few States the universities can
stand comparison in endowment, equipment, number

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METHODS OF SELECTION 119

of students or professors, and range of intellectual
interest with the best of the Old World : in others an
agricultural college or technical institution is only
beginning to be developed into a state university
with broader teaching aims. In some an admirable
system of elementary schools leads up to the uni-
versity; in others it is still difficult to get the thor-
ough preliminary training necessary for real uni-
versity work.

A further complication is introduced by the
extraordinary number of collegiate and university
institutions which have the power to grant degrees,
and do this on standards and courses so various
as almost to defy reliable comparison between the
scholars they turn out. There are States where no
less than thirty or forty duly authorized corpora-
tions have this right: in others, higher education is
represented by a single college or university.

Rivalry, again, between numerous competing
institutions in a State is often exceptionally keen.
Sometimes it is between a group of colleges under
different denominational control; sometimes be-
tween those created by private endowment; some-
times between both of these classes and a central
institution supported by the State. Instances where
each of these conditions influence strongly the edu-

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i«> THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

rational situation will at once occur to those who
are familiar with the different States.

As the expert members of the Committees of Se-
lection must usually be drawn from these compet-
ing institutions, a severe strain is put upon their
impartiality of judgment, and doubts have some-
times been forced upon the Trust as to whether it
is always possible for the teachers of strongly rival
institutions to act in conjunction with unbiassed
minds.

On the other hand, the very fact that a thor-
oughly friendly relation exists between all the insti-
tutions of a State sometimes proves a hindrance
to that impartial distribution of Scholarships on
grounds of merit only, which is essential to the full
success of the scheme. An American friend, widely
familiar with the higher education of the country, has
coined the phrase "inter-institutional courtesy" to
express this peculiar form of difficulty. A commit-
tee which in this courteous spirit gives different
institutions their "turn" in the enjoyment of the
Scholarship no doubt promotes friendly feeling, but
it does gross injustice to the individual candidate
who builds his hopes on impartial competition, and
also to the objects of the Trust. The slightest indi-
cation that a Committee of Selection follows a policy

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METHODS OF SELECTION 121

of this kind at once checks competition, since can-
didates will not apply from other institutions than
that which is supposed to have its "turn" for the
year.

Once more, in a few states, the development of
higher education is still largely under political con-
trol, and is subject to political influences. In one
case a State election swept away, as the result of a
party victory, the whole Committee of Selection,
consisting of the leading educational men of the
State. Under such circumstances, the only course
open to the Trust was to take the selection of the
Scholars into its own hands until the conditions
were radically changed.

In one or two states the experiment has been
tried, and so far with excellent results, of calling
in expert educational advice from outside the
state in order to make the selection of scholars.
This method of securing absolute impartiality
seems worthy of careful consideration.

Another set of circumstances increases the dif-
ficulty of making selections. A Scholarship is as-
signed to each State of the American Union. Among
these States there is a frequent interchange of stu-
dents. In the East where groups of universities or
colleges lie within a narrow radius — for instance,

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122 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Yale, Harvard, and Columbia, or Princeton, Penn-
sylvania, and Johns Hopkins — State boundaries or
State considerations have little influence in deciding
the choice of the place of education. The same is
true in parts of the West. Again, numbers of men
in the Western or Southern States prefer that then-
sons shall receive the whole or a part of their univer-
sity education in the Eastern colleges in which they
themselves have been educated, or with which they
are familiar. Many Eastern students take advant-
age of the opportunities offered in special directions
by the great universities of the Middle West or
Pacific States. Often it is the most enterprising and
energetic students who thus diverge from the or-
dinary local routine of education. Shall they for
this reason be disqualified from representing as
Rhodes Scholars the community of their birth or
domicile?

The Trustees think that they should not be so
penalized. They have therefore made a rule that a
candidate shall be free to offer himself either for the
community in which he has received any large part
of his education, or for the community in which he
has his ordinary domicile. This regulation met with
approval at all the old or large university centres,
accustomed to deal with students drawn from every

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METHODS OF SELECTION 123

part of the Union. There are other communities
where State or Provincial feeling is so strong that
students who leave their own States to get educa-
tion elsewhere seem convinced that they have little
chance, whatever their ability or other qualifica-
tions, of getting a Scholarship awarded to them
by a local committee. In some of the Middle and
Western States of America I was urged to make
both domicile and education within the State con-
ditions of eligibility. Such a course would have
greatly limited the field of competition, since it
would have disqualified all those who pursue their
university studies outside their own State, often,
as I have said, among the most desirable candidates.
The general result would undoubtedly be to lower
the quality of the American representation at Ox-
ford. I can only hope that the deliberate decision
of the Trustees, made after careful consideration
of all the circumstances, will induce all committees
to give equal consideration to every candidate who
comes within the regulation.

Certain well-defined conditions have made it
difficult to apply in some communities the athletic
tests suggested by Rhodes, if at the same time due
regard is paid to other essential interests of the
Scholarship Scheme. In the universities and COl-

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124 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

leges of the United States athletics have become a
highly specialized side of student life. Instead of
thousands of men tatting an active part in the col-
lege sports, as is the case at Oxford and Cambridge,
or the hundreds of boys with whom it is compulsory
in the great English Public Schools, the interest of
the games is concentrated upon a very limited num-
ber of men who compose the college teams. The
pressure brought upon these teams to maintain the
athletic reputation of their institutions is very
great, and success is pursued with an energy very
unfavourable to other work and in something closely
akin to the professional spirit. I have been con-
stantly told by educational authorities in the United
States that college athletics were not favourable
to the production of the all-round man whom
Rhodes evidently had in his mind. In a less degree
circumstances somewhat similar are met with in
some of the Colonial communities.

It has seemed to the Trustees that in fairness to a
constituency so wide as that covered by the Schol-
arship System, and where educational opportunities
are so varied, only two qualifications should be in-
sisted on for all candidates. The first is to have spent
two years at some recognized degree-granting col-
lege or university; the second, ability to pass Re-

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METHODS OF SELECTION 125

sponsions. From what has been said of the variety
of institutions from which candidates are drawn it
will be seen that the first qualification furnishes
but little ground for just comparison of scholastic
merit. Nor is the Responsions examination any
adequate test of intellectual superiority. It is merely
a qualifying test — the minimum on which the aver-
age Oxford College will allow a student to remain
on its rolls. I have also pointed out the difficulty
met with in comparing athletic and character
qualifications where the competitors come from
widely separated centres.

It is left for the Committees of Selection them-
selves to discover means by which they can compare
and value the relative strength of candidates. This
they should be able to do with greater fairness to
candidates educated under such varying conditions
than could possibly be done by a competitive exam-
ination conducted from Oxford. It is necessary to
lay special stress upon this point, since I have found
a tendency on the part of committees to accept as
on a complete level of intellectual ability all candi-
dates who have satisfied the two minimum condi-
tions mentioned above.

The selection of the Scholars will always involve
a good deal of patient care on the part of those who

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126 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

make it. The Responsions test applied by the Trust
merely shows that the student will not be rejected
by the Oxford Colleges. If a careful study of the
school and college career of candidates is not suffi-
cient to arrive at an adequate comparison of merit,
committees are free to apply to candidates any
further educational or other test that they deem
necessary. In its operation at Oxford the Scholar-
ship Scheme will apply a singularly penetrating
test, not only to the ability and character of Schol-
ars, but to the judgment of those who select them.
As the Committees of Selection embrace a large
proportion of the most prominent educational men
in English-speaking countries abroad, this test of
judgment will be curiously far-reaching.

Scholars are selected in large measure on evidence
that they possess force of character and powers of
leadership as well as intellectual ability. This evi-
dence must usually be obtained from the record of
their school and college career. There are few places
where these qualities are more likely to be developed
or are put to a severer test than in a great English
university. Oxford, like any other university centre,
offers temptations to idleness, extravagance, dissi-
pation, and to absorption in the frivolities of life,
as compared with its earnest purposes. On the

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METHODS OF SELECTION 127

other hand, as its long history has shown, it fur-
nishes the most splendid field for the exercise of
strong personal influence, for the development of
keen intellectual life, for the kindling of religious
and moral fervour, for the spread of social, political,
or even artistic enthusiasms.

If really endowed with the qualities which Rhodes
aimed at securing, if really possessing the virility of
the new communities and continents from which they
come, a body of students such as that which this
scheme draws to Oxford should prove a pervading
and powerful influence in university life. If they
fail to do so the scheme so far falls short of its pos-
sibilities, and the responsibility for failure must be
apportioned between the Scholars themselves and
those who are entrusted with the business of selec-
tion.

In every community in which I have had to organ-
ize a Committee of Selection I have in my conferences
made but one demand; that it should be so consti-
tuted that every youth in the State or Province as
well as the public generally should have the conviction
that merit alone can secure an election at its hands,
and no man should accept a place on these commit-
tees unless he is prepared to spend time and take
considerable trouble in forming a careful as well

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128 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

as conscientious judgment on the comparative merits
of candidates. 1

> By the Will of Rhodes, the selection of the German Scholars was
left entirely to His Majesty the German Emperor. Persons desiring
to be candidates should address their applications to: —
S.H.

Herra Ministerialdirector
Dr. Schmidt,

Ministerium der Unterrichta-Angelegenheiten,
Berlin, W. 8.

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CHAPTER V

AGE LIMITS AND COLLEGIATE STANDING

In determining the conditions on which the Scholar-
ships should be awarded, no questions have been
more fully discussed at the conferences held in various
parts of the world than those relating to the school or
collegiate standing that should be exacted of candi-
dates, and the limits of age within which they shall
be eligible. On both points divergent opinions have
been held by sincere thinkers equally anxious for the
success of the scheme. The Will of Mr. Rhodes
makes it clear that he had in his mind, as the field
from which his Scholars would be drawn, large sec-
ondary schools like the great Public Schools of Eng-
land. Another circumstance indicates a similar direc-
tion of his thought. Previous to the settlement of
his final plans he established a Scholarship for the
Secondary Collegiate School in his own parish of
Rondebosch, near Cape Town. Warned at the time
by the Headmaster of this school that he was plan-
ning to send his Scholars at an age too early to gain
full advantage from a course at Oxford, he asked

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130 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

that his proposal should be carried out at any rate
as a "trial trip." But he had an open mind on the
question. In a letter dealing with this Scholarship!
written about a month before he died to the Arch-
bishop of Cape Town, he says: —

I am thankful to you for undertaking the experi-
ment, which is a Scholarship for a combination of
mental, moral and physical qualities. Who knows, it
may be the grain of mustard seed which produces the
largest tree? [He adds:] We must watch carefully anc
improve as we gain experience.

He died too soon to learn anything definite from
the result of this experiment. It has therefore been
necessary for his Trustees to consider and decide the
question on its merits. To assist their judgment the
greatest trouble was taken to secure the best edu-
cational opinion. In the course of the numerous con-
ferences which have taken place, it was urged, by
those who favoured selection from secondary schools,
that to send any but Scholars of about the same
age and standing as ordinary Oxford undergraduates
would be a violation of the terms and spirit of the
Will. It was argued that older men would not read-
ily adapt themselves to undergraduate life; that the
best Colonial and American students, eager as they
generally are ' to begin their professional career,

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AGE AND COLLEGIATE STANDING 131

would not come at all if they could not come directly
from school, and at an early age; that Mr. Rhodes
wished to get his scholars at the most impressionable
period of life, and that on older men the moulding
influence of Oxford would be comparatively lost.
In spite of these arguments, however, there was in
the end at all the conferences a very general, though
not universal, agreement of opinion that the Scholars
should be selected, as far as practicable, from col-
leges or universities, rather than from secondary
schools, and the Trustees finally decided that by fol-
lowing this course the Scholarship System would
probably be made most effective, and would best
attain the objects that Rhodes had in view.

The main arguments leading to this important
decision may be briefly summarized. It was held: —

(a) That considerable maturity of mind and charac-
ter is required in students who come from re-
mote countries to spend the whole of their
Oxford course and its vacations entirely separ-
ated from home influences, and that parents
would object to sending their sons at too early
an age so far from their home base for a series of
years.

(b) That the chance of Scholars returning to be men
of weight and influence in their own countries, as

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132 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Rhodes evidently desired, would be greatly les-
sened, if by going to Oxford directly from school,
they should thus be cut off from all the associa-
tions and knowledge of, or sympathy with, the
university life of their country, usually so import-
ant an element in professional or political success.

(c) That the secondary school in the Colonies and
the United States usually sends on boys to the
university at an earlier age than the great Public
Schools of England, so that a scholar with two
years' university standing would not differ greatly
in age from the average English Matriculant;
moreover it seldom trains them to the same level
of scholarship, so that Scholars elected from
school could not reap the highest advantages from
a university like that of Oxford, and in com-
petition with their fellow students would be at
a great disadvantage.

{d) That in the schools of the Colonies and America
(chiefly day schools) there is not the same oppor-
tunity of testing moral and athletic qualifications
as in English Public Schools (chiefly residential),
and that it would prove impossible to select from
these schools on the basis indicated by Rhodes,
while such a choice becomes more easily practic-
able when university life is reached.

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AGE AND COLLEGIATE STANDING 133

(e) That it is necessary to keep in view the hope,
expressed by Rhodes in regard to his American
Scholars, that while his Bequest encouraged in
them an attachment to the Motherland from which
they sprang, it should not withdraw them or their
sympathies from the land of their adoption or
birth. It was felt that this hope would have a
better chance of fulfilment in the case of young
men who had passed beyond their school stage and
had got more closely in touch with the higher life
and aspirations of their own country. Besides a
more advanced type of student would better repre-
sent at Oxford the spirit of his own land, and thus
make the interchange of ideas more useful to all.

It was chiefly these considerations which led the
Trustees to make two years at some degree-granting
college or university a condition of eligibility in most
communities where such institutions exist. On the
question of the collegiate standing that should be
required of American Rhodes Scholars the following
opinion, made weighty by the wide experience of the
speaker, was given by the late Dr. W. T. Harris,
so long United States Commissioner of Education,
in an address before the National Association of
School Superintendents at Cincinnati: — d

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134 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

I have found myself obliged to come to the conclusion
that any and every attempt to fill the proposed Scholar-
ships from graduates of our secondary schools, or indeed
even from college students of attainments below the de-
gree of Bachelor of Arts, will fail to realize the expressed
wishes of the Testator. In the first place there is not a
sufficient maturity of mind on the part of the graduates of
our secondary schools to profit by the opportunities of
Oxford, nor is there any considerable degree of maturity
until entrance upon the third year of the American col-
lege or university.

At the conference held at Harvard University to
discuss the conditions of eligibility and methods of
selection for the New England States, it was agreed,
on the suggestion of President Eliot, that Massa-
chusetts should be allowed to make appointments
from the secondary schools. The opinion of the
Headmasters of these schools was opposed to this
suggestion, and- though the permission was given,
it has never been acted upon. With this single ex-
ception, it was the unanimous wish of all the States
of the Union that at least two years of college or
university life should be a condition of eligibility
for all American candidates.

Canadian opinion was also practically unanimous
in the same sense. In Australia and New Zealand
opinion was more divided, but with a distinct ma-

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"AGE AND COLLEGIATE STANDING 135

jority inclining towards the selection of university
students.

A crucial test of the question arose in connection
with the award of the Scholarships in Cape Colony.
By the Bequest they were in that Province definitely
assigned to the four leading secondary schools. But
these schools have been gradually compelled, by the
teaching of experience and in order to maintain their
credit at the University, to require that their elected
Scholars shall pass one, two, or three years at ad-
vanced work before taking up their Scholarships and
going into residence at Oxford. As the result of sim-
ilar experience the Trustees have decided that in
all other parts of South Africa candidates will here-
after be required to pass the Intermediate Examin-
ation of the Cape University.

There are still three or four of the smaller Colonies
where opportunities for college work do not exist,
and in these, candidates coming directly from second-
ary schools are for the present accepted. In most
cases they carry on their work as Scholars at a con-
siderable disadvantage. An Oxford course, with its
rigid examination tests, must necessarily involve
much anxiety to a man who comes to it badly pre-
pared, and especially one holding a large scholarship,
of whom a good deal is expected. Some of the great-

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136 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

est advantages of university life are lost to a stu-
dent constantly harassed by extreme examination
anxieties.

Among the Rhodes Scholars themselves who have
hitherto come to Oxford there is a practical agree-
ment of opinion that at least two years of home uni-
versity work before taking the Scholarship is re-
quired to place them on anything like equal terms
with the better class of students who come from
great Public Schools like Winchester, Eton, and
Rugby. This is found to be true not merely in
classics, but in all the various courses open at the
University. The examination results from year to
year confirm this opinion. Of the several hun-
dreds of Rhodes Scholars who have already passed
through Oxford it is safe to say that there has not
been one, even though he might previously have had
a university degree, who has not had to work hard
throughout his course to gain the higher honours
that Oxford has to give.

The eligible limits of age were fixed for most com-
munities between nineteen and twenty-five. Tem-
porary exceptions were made in a few cases to meet
peculiar local circumstances, but this regulation will
gradually be made applicable to all. Surprise has
been expressed at the upper limit of eligible age

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AGE AND COLLEGIATE STANDING 137

being fixed so high as twenty-five years. The de-
cision, intended to meet exceptional cases only, was
based on the well-known fact that in new countries
many men, to whom opportunities of study are
denied at an early age, make up their deficiencies at
a later stage. It was felt that such men, often the
strongest in mind and character, should not be shut
out from the opportunities created by the Bequest.
It will be remembered that the Oxford career of
Rhodes himself began at the age of twenty, and did
not close till he was twenty-eight.

Within the limits fixed, Committees of Selection
are free to make their choice. In the actual working
of the scheme at Oxford there have been occasional
instances where the older type of man seems to have
had difficulty in adapting himself readily to the un-
dergraduate life of the University. Men who are not
prepared to do this should not accept the Scholar-
ship. On the other hand, there have been difficult-
ies and even failures evidently arising from the
youth and inexperience of Scholars. Committees
of Selection must decide from the personality of
candidates which risk is the greater.

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CHAPTER VI

THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM

By F. J. Wylit

I wish in this chapter to give some idea, however
rough, of the University system as it exists at Ox-
ford, and, in particular, of the ways in which it may
affect the student from elsewhere.

The feature in that system which will first arrest
his attention — so much we may safely predict —
and to which he will soonest have to adjust himself,
will be the place occupied in it by the Colleges.
Oxford is a University : but a University of Colleges.
Not merely a University and Colleges: rather, a
University of Colleges.

The newcomer cannot too quickly appreciate
what this means. Should he start by contrasting
University and College, and look for the University
only In that which is not the Colleges, then he will
be apt to conclude, at least on his earlier experiences,
that the University counts for very little, the Col-
leges for very much. For it will be to the College,
and not to the University, that he will in the first

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 139

instance apply for admission: it will be the College
that receives him on arrival, exacts his fees, dis-
cusses his plans, arranges his lectures, and generally
assigns him his place in the academic society. Some
days later, no doubt, the University, in the person
of the Vice-Chancellor, will summon him to her
presence and formally admit him to membership,
offering him, as token of that membership, a copy
of her Statutes. This ceremony over, however, the
University withdraws. The College resumes con-
trol. Ceremony and Statutes are promptly forgot-
ten. There will be moments, of course, when the
Freshman will be reminded of the fact that there is
a University as distinct from the Colleges. He may
attend the lectures of a University Professor, or
work in one of the University Laboratories; he may
watch a University Football Match, or listen to a
University Sermon ; he may find his way to the Uni-
versity Library, or come under the notice of the
University Proctors. Normally, however, it will be
in the College rather than in the University — if we
are going to contrast these — that his activities will
find their exercise. The College will seem to have
crowded the University out.

And yet, after all, this bare distinction of Uni-
versity from Colleges is but half of a truth : of which

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140 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

the other half is that the Colleges, while they do not
exhaust the University, yet are the University. It
may be natural to contrast the two; even to regard
them as, from some points of view, rivals. But in
the long run it is at least as true, as it certainly is
more fruitful, to think of the Colleges, not as com-
peting with the University, but rather as the organs
of its life, in and through which its influence is
brought to bear on the individuals that share in that
life. This at any rate will be no useless thought with
which to inspire a Freshman — a Freshman above
all who comes from some other and different uni-
versity — that here at Oxford the University will
touch him, primarily though not exclusively, as a
College; and that he will enter best into his member-
ship of the University by being, first and foremost
and all the time, a genuine and effective member of
his College.

It has been already said that it is the College,
and not the University, that concerns itself with
the Freshman on his arrival: with him and with his
scheme of work. This is true, in the sense that he
is handed over to a tutor who is an officer of the Col-
lege, and not of the University. But it is also mis-
leading, at any rate to one who is unfamiliar with
Oxford conditions. For in point of fact it is by

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 141

the College tutors that Oxford teaching is largely —
one might almost say mainly — carried on : by men,
that is, who are appointed, controlled, paid, not
by the University, but by some College. They may
not hold the title of Professor, Associate-Professor,
or even Assistant-Professor, but they are doing Uni-
versity work notwithstanding: and to all intents
and purposes are University teachers.

However that may be, the Rhodes Scholar Fresh-
man must be prepared to find that, in the matter of
tutorial supervision and instruction, the University
exists for him normally in the person of a "Don "of
his own College.

With lectures it is different. He can attend
them anywhere. It may very well happen, for ex-
ample, that an undergraduate of Magdalen is in any
given term attending no lectures at all in his own
College, but may be going to Balliol for one course,
to Merton for another, and to New College, perhaps,
for a third. There is, in fact, complete free trade so
far as lectures are concerned; and in this respect the
Oxford undergraduate is at least as unhampered as
the student of the normal university of the British
Colonies, or of the United States. He can "sit
under" whatever lecturer he may fancy.

On the tutorial side of his work, however, he will

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142 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

find himself limited by the conditions of his College.
He will be in the hands of the tutor provided by the
College for the subject which he may be reading.
If the College is a large one, and the subject popular,
there may be more than one tutor in the subject; in
which case the student will do his work partly with
one and partly with the other. Or again, there may
be a certain measure of co-operation between tutors
of different Colleges. The Theological Tutor of
Wadham, let us say, may be specially interested in
Old Testament and Hebrew, and less interested in
New Testament and Doctrine: while the Theolog-
ical Tutor of, say, Queen's may be a specialist in
the latter subjects, but not in the former. By agree-
ment between themselves, they may effect such an
interchange of pupils as may secure that each is
mainly occupied in teaching those branches of his
subject to which he has devoted the most atten-
tion. Such co-operation already to some extent ex-
ists, and can only become more common in the
future.

It remains, notwithstanding, true that tutorial
instruction is essentially a College concern. This does
not mean that any College has among its " Fellows"
— that is, on its governing body, or "faculty," in
the American sense of the word — a tutor for every

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 143

one of the numerous subjects which in these days
find a place in the University curriculum. That is
no longer possible. In the first half of the nineteenth
century the subjects demanded for the Oxford
Bachelor of Arts degree were still so few that it was
possible for each College to be, for teaching purposes,
an independent unit. And along with this instruc-
tional independence went much isolation of stand-
ards and ideals. The second half of the nineteenth
century, however, brought with it a widening of the
whole range of studies. Whereas less than a hun-
dred years ago there were only two Final Honour
Schools in the University, viz: Litera Humaniores
and Mathematics, to-day there are, in addition to
the original two, the following: Modern History,
Jurisprudence, Theology, Natural Science (which
includes as separate Schools, Chemistry, Geology,
Botany, Zoology, Animal Physiology, Physics, As-
tronomy, Engineering), Oriental Languages, Mod-
ern Languages, English Language and Literature.
This wide extension of the subjects taught has
broken in on the completeness and independence of
the Colleges. In which process there has been in-
volved, probably, both loss and gain. Under mod-
ern conditions the influence which a College exerts
upon its members, and the grip which it has upon

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144 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

them, may be less direct and distinctive than of old :
but, on the other hand, the intellectual outlook for
the student is wider, and the general efficiency of
the teaching body, presumably, greater.

And one consequence of the change that has
taken place is that Colleges can no longer from
their own "Fellows" provide instruction in all the
subjects that their undergraduates wish to study.
This, however, does not, in theory, modify the re-
sponsibility of each College for the tuition of its
members. Such difficulty as may arise is solved by
the College employing someone from outside its
own body to act as tutor in any subject that may
not fall within the competence of one of the Fellows.
Anyone so employed becomes, for longer or shorter
period as the case may be, a lecturer on the staff of
that College, and responsible to it for such pupils as
may be sent to him for instruction. And to him,
normally, all students from that College will go who
may be reading the subject which he is employed to
teach. That at once raises a point on which some-
thing may profitably be said. It happens now and
again that an undergraduate at some period of his
course feels dissatisfied with the tutor in whose
hands he may find himself. It does not appear
that in this respect Rhodes Scholars differ much

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 145

from other undergraduates. The fact is that, just
as the food at some other hotel has a way of tasting
fresher and more interesting than the food at one's
own, bo is the tutor of another College apt to appear,
at a distance, more attractive, or more stimulating,
than the tutor of one's own. And the question pre-
sents itself whether a tutor cannot be changed as
easily as an hotel. To that question the answer is
short and simple: He cannot. The whole system is
against it. The man who goes to Balliol or Brase-
nose will, normally, have a tutor appointed by Bal-
liol or Brasenose; and even though he may be per-
suaded that someone at Corpus (shall we say?)
would suit him better, he will not be able to effect
an exchange. Whether or no we are to regard this
as a drawback in the College system, we must at
least accept it as characteristic of it The College-
appointed tutor is a stern necessity.

What, then, is this tutor? To what extent does
he control the work of his pupil? Before we answer
that question, it seems, if not necessary, at least
desirable, that we should explain a distinction which
counts for much in the Oxford system — for more, j
perhaps, there than elsewhere — that, namely, be-
tween Honour work and Pass work. If, for example,
we examine the curriculum of any ordinary Ameri-

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146 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

can college, we find a number of courses advertised,
of which some may be "prescribed" and others
"elective"; of which, again, some may be more
elementary and others more advanced. But we do
not find a hard-and-fast line drawn between Honour
courses and Pass courses, or between "Honour
men" and "Passmen." There are, no doubt, differ-
ences in the systems prevailing at different colleges;
but it would, I suppose, be true to say that, as a
general rule and in spite of some recent changes, the
distinction between the Honour man and the Pass
man is found, under the American system, not in
the courses they pursue, but in the gradings they
obtain. They work, that is, side by side; and are
only differentiated at the end.

At Oxford things are different. There the divis-
ion, for academic purposes, between Honour and
Pass students is primary and radical. The first
question which any Oxford Freshman has to settle
is precisely this — Shall he read for Honours? On
his answer to that question will depend the char-
acter of all his subsequent work. For the Honour
man divides from the Pass man almost, if not quite,
from the beginning. He goes to different lectures,
he reads different books, and he takes different ex-
aminations. It is scarcely too much to say that his

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 147

work differs, not in range merely, but actually in
spirit and method.

Now there are in this both advantages and dis-
advantages. It will not, however, be necessary here
to do more than point out, in the first place, that
the elimination of the weaker and less ambitious
students does at least mean mat the work of the
rest, that is of the Honour men, can be maintained at
a higher level than would be possible if no such dis-
tinction existed; and, secondly, that the question
whether a Rhodes Scholar should read for Honours
or for a Pass is one that may almost be said to an-
swer itself. No man should be elected to such a
Scholarship who is not up to Honours standard. Nor
is it anything but waste of time for a man who has
been to a university elsewhere to come to Oxford
merely for the Pass Degree. As a matter of fact, in
nine years, and out of some five hundred scholars,
there has been, apart from illness, only one case in
which nothing more than a Pass Degree was aimed
at. The "Pass Schools," then, need detain us no
longer. They serve a useful purpose. Only, it does
not happen to be ours.

Now "reading for Honours" may of itself mean
more than one thing. Most obviously, however,
and commonly, it means reading for some one of

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148 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

the various "Final Honour Schools," which serve
as avenues to the B.A. Degree. That is what it
means normally to the Englishman; and that is
what it has meant to the great majority of Rhodes
Scholars. But that brings us face to face with a
difficulty. The American or Colonial graduate is in-
clined at first to resent the suggestion that he should
read for an Oxford B.A. He feels that he has not
come thousands of miles just to "go over the old
ground"; but to get something new in the way of
studies, and, incidentally, to carry away something
new in the way of degrees. He even suspects that
it may not be altogether consistent with loyalty to
the degree which his old university gave him that
he should be a candidate for an apparently similar
degree elsewhere.

It is no use making light of these entirely natural
anxieties. We must try to remove the ground for
them. And from that point of view it is important
to lay the emphasis on this — that the Oxford Hon-
our Schools do not really correspond to the ordinary
A.B. courses in an American college, or to those of
most Colonial universities. They are much more
specialized. No doubt traditionally an Oxford B.A.
Degree represents a general education. Something
indeed of this general character survives in the Pas*

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 149

Schools. But the Honour Schools are not, in the
ordinary sense of the word, "general" at all; and it
is merely misleading to think of them as such. They
stand for special study. Not for study which is pro-
fessional or technical; but certainly for study which
is special. They are founded on the idea — how-
ever far in practice thay may fall short of it — that
grasp of one subject has a higher educational value
than a more superficial knowledge of several. They
emphasize the training of the mind rather than the
accumulation of information.

For details as to the different Honour Schools,
and the subjects which they comprise, the reader
may be referred to the Oxford University Hand
Book, published by the Clarendon Press, Oxford.
We must be content here to indicate, quite generally,
the opportunities which these Schools offer for the
pursuit of special interests.

There are, of course, first and foremost by reason
of their long tradition, the Classical Schools (Honour
Moderations for pure Classics, and Literce Human-
iores for Classics, Ancient History, and Philosophy).
But there are in addition, as we have already seen,
separate Honour Schools in Mathematics, Physics,
Chemistry, Animal Physiology, Zoology, Botany,
Geology, Astronomy, Engineering, Jurisprudence,

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150 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Modern History, Theology, Oriental Studies, Eng-
lish Language and Literature, Modern Languages.
As the last-named School demands a knowledge of
only one modern language it may be said to repre-
sent in itself just as many separate Schools as there
are languages recognized by it.

Into any one of these fields — various enough, one
would say, to satisfy the most exacting — the stu-
dent may throw himself. Nor is it only in his last
year, or even in his last two years, that he is allowed
to specialize in this way. It would not be very wide
of the mark to say that he may do so from the be-
ginning of his time. At any rate, it is in his power,
if he have the ability and the industry, to dispose
by the end of his first term (that is, after eight
weeks' residence) of practically the only examina-
tion, after Responsions, that stands between him
and the special work which he may have selected
for his Final Honour School. 1 And even this inter-
mediate examination need not carry him far out-
side his chosen field. A historian, for example, or
a lawyer, can clear the way to the Honour School
of Modern History, or of Jurisprudence, by passing
an intermediate examination which consists mainly

1 It may be assumed that he has passed all parts of Responsions
before coming

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 151

of Roman Law and English Constitutional History,
both of which may be of positive value to him in
his subsequent work. The candidate for Honours
in any one branch of Natural Science can satisfy
the demands of the intermediate examination by
passing in the elements of one or at most two other
sciences. The chemist, for example, can do this
by taking a comparatively elementary examination
either in Mathematics, or in Physics and Mechan-
ics. There is the same freedom in the case of the
School of Modern Languages. The student whose
special language may be German is at liberty to
offer French for the intermediate examination. In
one way or another the preparatory work demanded
of any Honour man in subjects other than those in
which he has decided to specialize is reduced to a
minimum; and can, in most cases, be disposed of
early in his career. It ought not to be beyond the
powers of a Rhodes Scholar to put it behind him
before his second term of residence. 1 It seems fair,
then, to say that the Honour Schools for the Ox-
ford B.A. are, in reality, highly specialized, and not,
in any ordinary sense of the word, " general " at all.
1 Id this account no mention has been made of an examination in
Holy Scripture, including a small amount of Greek Testament, which
all candidates for the B.A. are obliged to pass. A week's work is
regarded by most undergraduates as a generous preparation for it.

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152 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Moreover, we get in them what may perhaps be
described as a double process of selection. In the
first place, the alternative of the Pass Schools car-
ries off, as we have already seen, the weaker or less
strenuous students ; and in the second place the wide
field of selection offered to Honour candidates
makes it possible for a man to devote his whole
energies to some subject for which his tastes, and
presumably his previous education, especially dis-
pose him. As a result, the work done in the Honour
Schools reaches, on the whole, a high level.

We have no wish to exaggerate this. Consider-
ably more than half of the whole University, prob-
ably about two-thirds, read for Honours. Out of
this number it is obvious that many will be neither
particularly able nor particularly strenuous. Nor
can we flatter ourselves that range of option results
always in a man finding some field of study in which
nature has destined him to do distinguished work.
At Oxford, as elsewhere, choice of subjects may be
determined haphazard, or by irrelevant and un-
worthy considerations. We are dealing, after all, with
ordinary undergraduates; and it is, no doubt, only
relatively, and in some not too ambitious sense, that
we can talk of their work as reaching a high level.
Still, in that sense, and relatively to what would be

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 153

possible under other conditions, the work done for
the Honour Schools may fairly claim to reach a
high standard.

The upshot of all this is that the student who has
taken, let us say, an ordinary A.B. course at a col-
lege elsewhere, and who, on coming to Oxford, reads
for one of the Final Honour Schools, will not really
be doing "the same old things" as he did at home.
On the one hand, there will be many subjects which
he studied there — in which, at any rate, he " took
courses" — which he will not touch at Oxford.
And on the other hand, whatever the subject may
be which he selects for study at Oxford, — be it
Modern History, or Chemistry, or English Litera-
ture, or what you will, — he will be able to pursue
it with a concentration which would be simply im-
possible if the subject were only one out of many.
He will be courting disappointment if, on the
strength of a B.A. degree earned elsewhere, he un-
derrate the demands which the Honour Schools
will make either on his ability or on his knowledge.
That, perhaps, is what we may answer to the man
who, quite properly and sincerely, hesitates about
reading a second time for a B.A. Degree.

It is, indeed, the general experience of the Rhodes
Scholars of the past seven or eight years that for

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154 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

most of those who come to us with these Scholarships
the Honour Schools provide the kind of work and
training required. I say "for most" deliberately.
There are, of course, exceptions. Some of our
Scholars are competent, when they come, to begin
genuine research work. These find their opportunity
elsewhere than in the Honour Schools. They do not,
however, form a large class. As a rule a Rhodes
Scholar has only just completed the normal B.A.
course when he comes to Oxford. He has had, it may
very well be, an excellent general education. But he
is far from having mastered (however modestly we
may interpret that word) any one subject The
Honour Schools will carry him just one step forward.
If he look to teaching as his profession, they will
serve to bridge the interval that yawns between the
normal A.B. curriculum, with its slightness and its
generality, and the extreme, not to say the excessive,
specialization which is everywhere demanded of
candidates for a Ph.D. Degree. If he has no inten-
tion of teaching they will offer him a training in
some one field of work which, quite apart from the
immediate value of the knowledge he acquires, will,
if he take it fairly, deepen his sense of what scholar-
ship, in the wider sense of that word, means, and will
go some way towards making his mind his own.

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 155

We may return now to the tutor, whom we left in
order to come first at some understanding of the
Honour Schools. What will be the nature of his
work in relation to his pupil ? In the first place, he will
advise him as to the lectures which it would be well
for him to attend, and as to his reading, both in term
and in vacation ; and, in the second place, will devote
on the average one hour a week to private and in-
formal instruction.

We have already explained that the Honour
student is not limited to the lectures of his own tutor
or his own College, but is free to go where he will. In
selecting his lectures, however, he will normally be
guided by his tutor's advice. Disregard of that ad-
vice is likely to be foolish; and, if persisted in to the
point of obstinacy, may even lead to trouble. There
is, however, comparatively little compulsion. It is
assumed, as long as possible, that an Honour man
"means business"; and that he will have the sense,
on the whole, to profit by such advice as experience,
in the person of his tutor, may offer him. There is
some give and take ; but the thing works reasonably.
Serious friction is exceptional.

Lectures, however, are only one side of a man's
work, and that not the most important. It is the
work which he does either by himself (in vacation

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156 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

especially), or privately with his tutor, that really
counts. The nature of the tutorial work may vary
with the subject. Speaking generally, however, we
may describe it as a weekly interview lasting an hour
(sometimes less, sometimes more) in which first the
pupil reads an essay on some prescribed subject, and
then pupil and tutor together discuss, not the essay
merely, but the whole subject with which the essay
deals. The interview itself, in its incidental features,
will not be always of the same character. Some
tutors are formal, and keep their pupils severely
seated at a table. Others, and they are the majority
in these days, prefer to get their pupils into an arm-
chair, and even offer them tobacco. This informality
of procedure is not, as its critics have been heard to
say, merely a sign of the degeneracy of an age in
which tutors forget their dignity and pupils their
manners. It is founded on a principle, and springs
out of a conviction that the discussion will be valu-
able in proportion as the pupil can be brought to
contribute to it frankly and freely himself, and that
informality makes for the removal of barriers. The
object of most tutors is at least as much to get their
pupils to talk as to get them to listen; and no one
with any experience of the situation can be in doubt
as to which of these is the harder. It is easy of

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 157

course for the tutorial system to fall short of its ideal.
No one knows this better than those who have tried
to work it. Tutors may be indifferent or uninspir-
ing, just as pupils may be idle or unresponsive. The
system makes no claim to work miracles. It claims
for itself only that it is founded on a true conception
of education, as something that works through the
intimate friction of mind on mind ; that, at its worst,
it is not more useless than other systems, but only
more expensive; and that at its best it is, perhaps,
somewhat richer in stimulus.

It remains to say a word as to the reading which a
candidate for Honours does for and by himself. To
a certain extent this is done in term ; but to a larger
extent, and more effectively, in vacation. The use,
indeed, of vacation is so distinctive a feature of
Oxford honour work as to merit a moment's con-
sideration. In many universities a man is examined
at the close of each academic year in those subjects,
or portions of a subject, on which he may have been
attending lectures during the year. These examina-
tions over, he treats the subjects in which he has
been examined as done with, and behind him. He
goes out to a vacation which is a complete holiday —
a holiday, at any rate, so far as academic work is
concerned; and returns the following year to start

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158 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

new subjects, and, in due course, to dispose of them
in the same way.

Now whatever the merits or necessities of such a
system, it is not the system that prevails at Oxford,
in the Honour Schools at any rate. There a man
cannot dispose of his work, in this comfortable fash-
ion, by bits. He must carry it with him, from term
to vacation, and from vacation to term ; and carry it
all. There is no part of it which he can with impun-
ity forget, or leave by the way. The consequence is
that vacation is hardly less important than term.
It is, indeed, in vacation that much of a man's most
valuable work is done. He is free then of lectures,
and of tutors; has time, at last, for continuous
thinking, for digestion. Oxford vacations are long,
considerably longer than elsewhere. They occupy
approximately half the year. This may be too long
for the Pass man, for whom vacation is normally a
holiday and nothing more ; but is justified in the case
of the Honour man, by the high value — educa-
tionally speaking — of the independent work which
long periods of vacation make possible and encour-
age. The Rhodes Scholar cannot realize this too
quickly or too fully. Otherwise, he will not merely
fail in the end to do himself justice: but, what is more
important, he will miss one of Oxford's finest lessons.

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 159

It is worth while to invite attention to this point,
for the simple reason that Rhodes Scholars will be
always peculiarly liable to the temptation to treat
vacations as primarily occasions for travel. Now it
would be absurd to deny that the opportunity of
European travel is one of the attractions of a Rhodes
Scholarship. It is so, and rightly. A Rhodes Scholar
who does not, in the course of the tenure of his
Scholarship, see something of Europe, and make
himself at home in at least one language other than
his own, is simply wasting his opportunity. This,
however, is in no way inconsistent with the proper
use of vacation from other points of view. It is just
as easy, and scarcely more expensive, to carry one's
books to Tours, or Grenoble, or Heidelberg, as it is
to go with them to some English or Welsh seaside
resort. One can work as hard and think as clearly
in one place as in another. There need be no real
conflict between the claims of work and of travel,
if only we interpret those claims reasonably. Some
care in organizing time may be required, and some
resoluteness of purpose; but the goal is worth the
effort.

We may end, however, upon a note of warning.
There is no waste of opportunity more short-sighted
than that of sacrificing to indiscriminate "globe

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i6o THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

trotting" the continuous and unhampered work
which vacation, and vacation alone, makes possible.

There is one further point on which something re-
mains to be said before we leave the Honour Schools :
and that is the thorny subject of the recognition
given by Oxford for work done elsewhere. Is the
graduate of a Colonial or American university ex-
pected, not merely to become once more a candidate
for a Bachelor's Degree, but actually to start at the
bottom? Well, it is not quite as bad as that. He gets
some recognition : though seldom as much as he thinks
he deserves. The history of all such recognition is
recent. Twenty-five years ago it was practically
unknown. The movement began, in the late eighties
of the last century, with the recognition of certain
Colonial universities. It was not until 1904 that
similar privileges were extended to foreign students.
The subject is technical, and the details will be more
in place elsewhere. 1 It may, however, be desirable
to summarize the results here as briefly as may be.

There are on the Statute Book two Statutes,
known respectively as the Colonial Universities*
Statute, and the Foreign Universities' Statute.
Under these Statutes the University assigns certain
privileges to two classes of students; firstly, "Junior
1 Sec Appendix B.

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 161

Students," those who have completed satisfactorily
two years work at a university elsewhere; and sec-
ondly, "Senior Students," those who have com-
pleted three years work at a university elsewhere,
and have "obtained honours."

A student of the first class is allowed one year's
"standing" ; is exempt from all parts of Responsions,
except Greek; and can take his B.A. Degree after two
years' residence, provided he has obtained Honours.
He is, however, obliged to pass the intermediate
examination which lies between Responsions and
the Final Honour Schools.

A student of the second class is allowed one year's
standing; is exempt not only from all parts of Re-
sponsions, except Greek, but also from any intermedi-
ate examination; and can take his B.A. Degree after
two years' residence, provided he have reached an
Honours standard in some one of the Final Honour
Schools.

It will be at once seen that the main difference
between these two classes is that, while the Junior
Student is obliged to pass an intermediate examin-
ation, the Senior Student is not. This difference is,
no doubt, a real one. To a first and uninstructed view
it may even seem alarming; and may occasion — it
certainly has sometimes done so — irritation and

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i62 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

resentment. To the student who has been given only
Junior standing, the necessity of taking the inter-
mediate examination is apt to present itself, just at
the moment, as a serious and unjustifiable burden.
This is, however, an exaggeration; intelligible, and
indeed excusable, in the heat of disappointment ; but
still an exaggeration. The cold fact is that the dif-
ference between the two standings, however real, is
not, or is not necessarily, serious. The Senior stu-
dent begins to read for his Final Honour Schools at
once. The Junior student is in the position of having
to devote his first term (for experience has shown
that, with industry, it need not be more) to getting
up some subjects which are themselves, in many
cases at least, along the line of his subsequent work.
Of course he may take more than one term; for he
may be unlucky, or even idle. If so, then by so much
the seriousness of the difference between Senior and
Junior standing is increased. At the best, however,
— a best which many Rhodes Scholars have found
within their reach, — the time spent over the inter-
mediate examination need not exceed one term. And
even the time so spent is not necessarily all "lost."
It would be a rough, but not unfair, summary of the
situation to say that Senior standing is worth having
if you are given it ; but deserves few tears if you missit.

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 163

An objection here suggests itself. Why this un-
certainty as to being "given" Senior standing?
Surely a Rhodes Scholar will, ordinarily, have little
difficulty in showing that he has "obtained honours"
in the university from which he may have come?
Alas! it is not so simple as it appears. In the first
place, under the Statutes named above, Oxford has
to determine what "obtaining honours" shall, for
Oxford purposes, mean; and, in determining the
conditions under which considerable privileges may
be claimed, any university may be expected to keep
on the safe side. That is just what Oxford has done.
And in the second place, while it has been possible to
deal separately with practically all Colonial univer-
sities (they number only some thirty in all), the
number of institutions in the United States which
grant the A.B. Degree is so overwhelming, being
something over five hundred, that it becomes a sheer
impossibility to attempt to determine separately for
each of them what shall, for the purposes of the
Oxford Statute, constitute "obtaining honours."
Oxford has, indeed, made a beginning with some few
of the larger and better known universities; and will
perhaps not stop there. But she can never begin to
think of dealing in this detailed way with the great
mass of American colleges. Even the life of a Uni-

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164 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

versity is too short for that. In all ordinary cases,
then, an American student will have to be considered
on his own individual merits. His record will be
examined; some attempt will be made to gauge the
standards of the institution from which he may have
come; and on the data submitted, the University,
acting on the recommendation of a Committee ap-
pointed for the purpose, will assign to the individual
applicant such "standing" as may seem proper. To
prevent misunderstanding it may not be amiss to
add that Oxford theory, at any rate as revealed in
Oxford practice, regards Junior standing as the
normal privilege, Senior standing as the exceptional.
A Rhodes Scholar, therefore, will be wise to assume
that his standing will be Junior; a standing which
carries with it, it will be remembered, exemption
from all parts of Responsions, except Greek, but
not exemption from the intermediate examination.

"Except Greek"; yes, for Oxford has, so far, re-
mained notoriously faithful to the Greek tradition;
and, fearful lest any outsider should slip in Greekless
to the fold of the elect (that is, of those who hold her
Bachelor of Arts Degree), has inserted a special
clause in the Colonial and Foreign Universities*
Statutes to the effect that any student who avails
himself of the privileges offered under these Statutes,

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM ,'165

whether his standing be Senior or Junior, shall
give evidence of a "sufficient knowledge of the
Greek language" before he be allowed to proceed to
the B.A. Degree. This rings threateningly. Words
apart, however, the reality is only modestly alarm-
ing. In the first place, the great majority of Rhodes
Scholars will be already exempt from Greek, either
as having at their own universities passed examina-
tions in Greek which are accepted at Oxford as af-
fording the required evidence, or as having passed in
Greek at the Qualifying Examination instituted by
the Rhodes Trustees. 1 For them the Greek clause
will have no terrors. In the second place, a "suf-
ficient knowledge of the Greek language" is inter-
preted as meaning "so much Greek as is demanded
in Responsions." Now about Responsions Greek a
hot controversy rages. Out of that controversy this
much seems to emerge, that the amount of Greek
knowledge demanded of candidates in that examina-
tion is not enough either (according to its defenders)
to be a burden on any one, or (according to its crit-
ics) to be of the slightest use to any one. Whichever
way we prefer to put it, we may at least console our-
selves by reflecting that no one elected to a Rhodes
Scholarship without Greek — and Greek, it must be
» See Chapter ra, page 109.

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166 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

remembered, is not a necessary condition of election
to a Scholarship — need view with alarm, however
much he may choose to resent, the necessity under
which he will find himself of mastering, after elec-
tion, sufficient Greek to satisfy the Responsions
examiners. Experience has shown that six months is
for that purpose an adequate allowance. Certainly
no one elected to a Scholarship in January should
have any difficulty in passing Responsions Greek in
the following September. That is, indeed, the date by
which he will be expected to pass it. It is true that
the University does not demand Greek of candidates
either for the so-called Research Degrees (B.Litt, and
B.Sc.) or for the Advanced Law Degree (B.C.L.):
but only of those who look to the B.A. That, how-
ever, is best forgotten : for it may only lead us astray.
It is with the Colleges that we have to deal in the
first instance; and they are in the habit of insisting
that any Rhodes Scholar who may have been elected
without Greek shall pass in that subject at Respon-
sions before coming into residence. I do not say that
there are no exceptions to this practice; but excep-
tions are rare, and carefully guarded. Beyond all
question, there is only one piece of advice which it is
safe to give a Greekless Rhodes Scholar; and that is,
that his first visit after election be to the bookstore,

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 167

to buy a Greek grammar. With that we may per-
haps dismiss the question of Greek, merely under-
lining two points which it may be worth while to
emphasize: the first, that a Rhodes Scholarship can
be won without a knowledge of Greek; and the sec-
ond, that the Greek necessary to satisfy the Oxford
requirements is so slight in amount that it would be
ridiculous for any one, however timid a modernist,
to pay it the compliment of running away from it.

We have dealt hitherto, almost exclusively, with
the "Final Honour Schools" of the University —
avenues, it will be remembered, all of them, however
different in character, to the B.A. Degree. And in
this we have been justified by the dominating posi-
tion which these Schools occupy in the Oxford edu-
cational system. They do not, however, monopolize
the field to-day to the extent that they did even
twenty-five years ago. "Research" has now made
its claim heard, at Oxford as elsewhere — though
more slowly here than elsewhere, and perhaps more
quietly. And the claim has been met by the institu-
tion of two research degrees, the Bachelor of Science
and the Bachelor of Letters.

At most other universities these degrees, if they
exist at all, are, I imagine, parallel to the Bachelor of
Arts; independent work of a "research" character

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168 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

being rewarded with the Ph.D., or other similar
degree. At Oxford, however, the Doctorate in Let-
ters or in Science is reserved for work which has been
already published, and which, having come through
that ordeal, can be regarded as "an original contri-
bution to the advancement of learning or science."
It is significant of the position which these Doctor-
ates are intended to occupy that no Master of Arts
of the University may be a candidate for either of
them until the close of at least the tenth year from
his matriculation. For independent work on a less
ambitious scale, but still claiming the title "re-
search," carried on under University supervision,
and tested in its results by University examiners,
Oxford awards the degree of B.Litt. or B.Sc. From
a professional or utilitarian point of view this may
be unfortunate, in so far as the world in general
associates a Bachelor's Degree with something dif-
ferent. Oxford, however, fixed on these titles for
her first research degrees; and there the thing rests.
Those to whom it matters will in time come to real-
ize that the B.Sc. and B.Litt. stand here for work
similar in character and quality, if not actually in
amount, to that which brings elsewhere the Ph.D.

Any student from another university may be ad-
mitted as a candidate for these degrees who is over

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 169

twenty-one years of age, and who can show, firstly,
that he has received "a good general education,"
and, secondly, that he is competent to pursue with
profit the subject proposed. If admitted, he will
pursue his course of study, or research, under the
general direction of a Supervisor, or Supervisors,
appointed by the University. The results of his
research will, normally, be embodied in a thesis, and
the candidate himself orally examined in the whole
field within which his subject falls. On thesis and
oral examination considered together the degree will
be awarded or withheld.

Now, difficult and unsatisfactory as general state-
ments in such cases are apt to be, we may neverthe-
less allow ourselves two remarks in this connection.
In the first place, it will be unwise for any student
who may just have completed a B.A. course else-
where to regard himself as thereby equipped for at
once beginning research. That is more than unlikely.
He will be better advised in most cases to start on
one of the Final Honour Schools. It will be always
possible for him to turn to research later in his
course, should that seem advisable. And in the
second place, it has to be remembered that these
degrees are of recent institution, dating only from
1895, and that the teaching of the University has

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170 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

hitherto been organized primarily with a view to the
Final Honour Schools. Undoubtedly in many, if not
in most, branches of study the advanced student
will find in Oxford both material for his work and
competent advisers. He must not, however, expect
to find quite the same organization of graduate in-
struction as is to be found, for example, in some
few of the larger American universities. It tends, I
think, to be the Oxford theory that a student who is
qualified for research is one who will be able, in the
main, to work by himself; who may need advice and
direction, but hardly instruction.

There is no reason to discourage any student who
may be genuinely competent to do special and ad-
vanced work from coming to Oxford to do it. He
will be welcome: and while his opportunities will
necessarily vary with his subject, there will in most
cases be work for him to do. There is, on the other
hand, very good reason for advising one who has had
no previous training for research to read, in the first
instance at any rate, for one of the Final Honour
Schools. They will give him, in the main, what he
wants: and it is in them — so at least we are often
told — that Oxford is most herself, and most effect-
ive. In this connection it may be interesting, and
even suggestive, to note that of the Rhodes Scholars

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 171

who completed courses at Oxford between the years
1906 and 191 1, two hundred and twenty-three read
for a Final Honour School, and thirty-four for one
or other of these research degrees.

There remains one other advanced degree which
may be said to have a special interest for Rhodes
Scholars; for they form a quite considerable propor-
tion of those who take it: * and that is the Bachelor
of Civil Law. This degree is given, not for research,
but after an examination in Roman Law, Juris*
prudence, English Law, and International Law.
The course is at once wider and more thorough
than that for the Final Honour School of Jurispru-
dence. The standard also in the examination is
singularly high. 1 It stands unquestionably for the
best training in Law which Oxford has to offer.
On the other hand, it is a difficult course for
those to complete successfully who have had no
previous legal teaching. Moreover the Board of
Faculty of Law has to satisfy itself that applicants
from other universities are "well qualified to pursue
such a course of advanced legal study." However

1 In the last three years, out of twenty-eight who have taken this
degree, thirteen have been Rhodes Scholars.

* In the last three years, out of sixty-seven who have entered for
this examination only twenty-eight have passed it. In the last ten
years, only five men have been put in the first class.

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172 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

generous the Board may be in its interpretation of
this clause, it is not inclined to admit to the B.C.L.
course students whose previous training has lain en-
tirely in other fields, at least until it has received
some evidence of special aptitude for legal study.
A Rhodes Scholar, therefore, in whose education
hitherto law has found no place, would do well to
begin with the Final Honour School of Jurispru-
dence. Should it appear before the end of his first
year that "he is qualified to pursue a course of ad-
vanced legal study," it will be in his power to ap-
proach the Board then with an application for ad-
mission, submitting as evidence the testimony of
the tutor with whom he may have been working
during the year. He would be required at the same
time to produce evidence of being over twenty-one
years of age, and of having obtained a degree else-
where in either "Arts, Science, or Philosophy."

It is the unanimous verdict of those Rhodes
Scholars who have taken the B.C.L. course, firstly,
that it is excellent, and secondly, that it is difficult
It is in fact a serious piece of work; and expects to
be seriously taken.

So much for Law. What of Medicine? Well, the
medical course is always, and of necessity, a long
one. At Oxford a Rhodes Scholar may assume that,

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 173

in order to get the degree of B.M., he will require
certainly five, and perhaps six, years — of which
two will be spent in London at the hospitals. A con-
siderable number of Rhodes Scholars from the Brit-
ish Colonies do actually take this degree : but, so far,
no American has done so. Indeed, for them, a Brit-
ish medical degree would scarcely have a value that
would justify the time spent in obtaining it.

There are, however, opportunities for scientific
work along medical lines — especially in physiology
and pathology — which will occupy three years pro-
fitably for any American who looks to medicine for
his career. He can read for the Final Honour School
of Physiology: or do some piece of research with a
view to the B.Sc. Degree: or even (if his College
sanction it) work independently without regard to
any Oxford examination or degree. There will be,
perhaps, more temptation for an American medical
to waste his Scholarship than for any one else, in
proportion as he feels that the real training for his
profession is to come subsequently, and elsewhere.
Just for that reason he must come in the right spirit,
or not at all. But if he has any clear purpose in com-
ing, and sufficient character to hold to his purpose,
there is much that he can get by coming. The Ox-
ford Medical School is a small one. I believe that

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174 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

its standards, and even its opportunities on the
scientific side, would bear comparison with those of
many larger Schools.

In addition to the degrees which we have so far
had under consideration the University gives also
diplomas, after examination, in a certain number of
subjects for which no special provision has been
made in the Honour Schools. In connection with
the diploma, and leading up to the examination,
there is in each case a regular course of study, de-
signed to correspond to the work of either one year
or two. Courses are arranged, and diplomas awarded,
in the following subjects: Economics and Political
Science; Geography;AnthropoIogy; Forestry; Class-
ical Archseology; Mining Engineering; Rural Econ-
omy; Education; Ophthalmology; Public Health.

A diploma by itself can hardly be said to repre-
sent three years' work. It may, however, profitably
be combined with something else; with an Honour
School, for example, or with work for the B.Sc. or
B.Litt. Degrees. Two Rhodes Scholars have taken
the Diploma in Economics arid Political Science
after the Honour School of Modern History; two
have combined it with the B.Litt. ; one has taken the
Diploma in Geography after Literae Humaniores;
two others the Diploma in Anthropology along with

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 175

a B.Sc. Degree for special work in the same subject;
another is combining' the Diploma in Anthropology
with that in Geography ; while a considerable num-
ber have taken the Diploma in Forestry together
with a Final Honour School, either Geology, or
Botany, or Physics.

These diplomas are a modern growth; and it is
still to be seen how they will articulate with the sys-
tem generally. By the side of most of the Honour
Schools they have, doubtless, something of the air
of upstarts, if not actually of charlatans. There are
not wanting those among us who shake heads over
them, predicting that they will undermine the older,
more comprehensive, and more exacting studies.
That were, indeed, a sad issue of a sincere experiment.
Perhaps, however, we may allow ourselves, without
undue optimism, a larger faith in the inherent value
and ultimate vitality of the Honour Schools. And
in the mean time the diplomas seem to meet a want.
Certainly they may often serve a useful purpose in
the Rhodes Scholar's academic scheme.

Alongside of degrees and diplomas there are also
University prizes and Scholarships, which tempt
the more ambitious. It would be waste of time to
enumerate these. It will suffice to say that they
are few in number, and are the reward of excep-

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176 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

tional ability. Rhodes Scholars have occasionally
won them. The Ireland Scholarship, the highest
distinction open to a Classical Scholar here, has in
the last eight years fallen to a Rhodes Scholar once;
the Vinerian Scholarship, which is the premier Law
Scholarship open to undergraduates, and is of the
value of eighty pounds for three years, three times;
the Burdett Coutts Scholarship in Geology, which
is of the value of one hundred and fifteen pounds for
two years, three times; the Philip Walker Student-
ship in Pathology, of the value of two hundred
pounds for three years, once; the Geographical
Scholarship, of sixty pounds value, once; the Pass-
more Edwards Scholarship, awarded after an ex-
amination in Classical and Modern Literature, and
of the value of thirty pounds, once.

Rhodes Scholars have also carried off an occas-
ional University Essay Prize — as, for example, the
Gladstone Prize in 1906, the Chancellor's Latin
Essay in 1907, the Beit Prize, for an Essay on some
subject of Colonial History, in 1908, the Robert
Herbert Memorial Prize in 1910. This year, 1912,
a Rhodes Scholar has won the Newdigate Prize for
English Verse.

The only purpose in alluding to these distinc-
tions is to show that there are opportunities open

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 177

to Rhodes Scholars, of any nationality, of achiev-
ing distinction along the lines of their academic
studies quite aside from everyday examinations.
They constitute an altogether legitimate ambition
for any student of vigour and ability.

This chapter has been long and, of necessity,
often technical. It is never easy to make the con-
ditions at one university intelligible at another: and
it is least of all so in the case of Oxford, whose his-
tory has stamped her with a somewhat complex in-
dividuality. It has not been possible here to attempt
more than a rough sketch of some of the more ob-
vious features of her system. Out of the attempt a
few things will, it may be hoped, have emerged.

It is still often supposed that the Oxford B.A.
stands for a general course. It will have been seen
that, on the contrary, it stands, in its Honour
Schools, for a definitely specialized course; that it
does not even stand for a literary course, but can
be obtained by way of Law or Science just as well
as by way of Letters.

It is still often supposed that Oxford teaches Class-
ics, and little else. It will have been seen that this is a
mistaken notion. 1 True as it may be that the Class-

1 la toil connection it may be interesting to give the numbers of
thote who entered for the different Final Honour Schools this year

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178 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

its occupy at Oxford a position which they do not
hold in newer lands, it is not the less true that there
are few branches of laming which Oxford does not
recognize and teach; and that some of these she
t e aches as effectively, and as exhaustively as she
does the Classics. This consideration may indeed
help us to deal with the not uncommon misconcep-
tion that in the selection of a Rhodes Scholar it is
desirable that preference should be given to a
Classic. If we may look at this question from the
point of view of Oxford, we may safely say that the
only sound principle of selection will be to prefer the
man that is the abler and the better qualified gen-
erally. And what is true from the Oxford point of
view will be found, I think, to be true in the long
run from other points of view as well — whether
that of the Rhodes Scheme, of the institutions from
which Scholars come, or of the individual Scholars
themselves. Oxford wants as Rhodes Scholars men
who can take their place squarely alongside of her
best men; and neither the Rhodes Trust nor the in-
stitutions which the Scholars represent can be con-
tent with anything short of this. Now as actual con-

(1913). Tbey were as follows: Litem Hurannioree, 147; Modem
History, 197; Jurisprudence, ill; Theology, 52; Natural Science, 86;
English Literature, 20; Mathematics, 25; Modern Languages, 11;
Oriental Languages, 4.

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THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM 179

ditions stand — given, that is, the relative stress
laid on different subjects, and the relative stand-
ards maintained in them, at Oxford and elsewhere
— this ideal will be easier of attainment in almost
any other subject than it will be in Classics. Hith-
erto, certainly, it has been in the Schools of Law,
History, and Natural Science that the Rhodes
Scholars have, on the whole and with one or two
brilliant exceptions, produced the best results.

Once more, it is still often supposed that Oxford
concerns herself exclusively with undergraduate
work. Even that will have been seen to be untrue.
It may be true that the Final Honour Schools are
Oxford's outstanding contribution to education: it
is not true that they are her only contribution.
There is in fact a quite considerable amount of work
already done in Oxford that is "graduate" in char-
acter; that may even in some cases merit the name
of research; primarily, of course, for the B.Sc. or
B.Litt. Degrees; but secondarily also for diplomas;
and even, to some extent, for Honour Schools.

And lastly, it is commonly supposed that Oxford
shuts the academic door upon all applicants who
may not be willing to submit first to an examina-
tion in Greek. It will have appeared that this, too,
is not wholly true. No one, certainly, may reach

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180 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

the B.A. without Greek. The B.Sc., however, the
B.Litt, the B.C.L., and most of the diplomas, are
within reach even of the Greektess.

By way of conclusion, we may perhaps allow our-
selves to say that he will be an exceptional Rhodes
Scholar who cannot find somewhere in Oxford both
opportunity and inspiration.

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CHAPTER VII

THE SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE

By F. J. Wylie

There are two sides to university life everywhere:
the academic and the social. Of the academic side
of Oxford we have spoken in the preceding chapter.
It remains here to say something of the other side,
the side which has nothing to do with lectures or ex-
aminations, or even with tutors as such; but rather
with the ways in which a man meets his fellows in
the give and take of a common life. For conven-
ience we shall call that the social side.

To pass from the academic to the social is not,
of course, to leave education behind. No one really
supposes that. Indeed it is common enough at al-
umni gatherings the world over to hear talk which
suggests something very different; which suggests,
rather, that the things of value which a College
gives are precisely not the things gathered in class-
rooms or from books. In this of course there is
exaggeration, natural to the occasion. Nor is it al-
ways easy, across the years, to say just where influ-

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182 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

ences began or ended. Still, when all allowances
have been made, there remains enough of truth to
make it worth our while to remind ourselves that
in attempting to give some account of the social
side of Oxford we shall be dealing with things which
are not insignificant, either morally or intellectually,
but, on the contrary, leave their mark upon a man.

We have seen already that the College is the acad-
emic unit. It is the social unit too. We at least
cannot be indifferent to this. For indeed we partly
owe to it the selection of Oxford as the scene and
instrument of Rhodes' great experiment; as he him-
self tells us in his will. There were reasons why he
was tempted to send his Scholars to Edinburgh Uni-
versity. He actually contemplated the possibility
of doing so: but gave up the idea precisely because
Edinburgh was not a residential university in the
sense in which Oxford is. Edinburgh students live
scattered through the town, out in the* country even,
haphazard, in lodgings, in boarding-houses, some-
times in their own families.

This non-residential type of university has merits
of its own, neither few nor unimportant. But
Rhodes believed in the closer influence which a col-
lege exercises. He believed, on the one side, in
supervision; and he believed, on the other, in the

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SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE 183

shoulder-rubbing peculiar to the intimate life of a
small society : believed in these enough to be determ-
ined by them for Oxford and against Edinburgh.
This is something of which we shall have to keep
ourselves loyally in mind. Rhodes' experiment was,
throughout, an experiment in influences. And the
influences under which he desired his Scholars to
come he seems to have associated directly with the
special character of Oxford as a University of Col-
leges. This is but one aspect of Oxford, and it is
far from exhausting the secret of her influence.
Rhodes, of course, never supposed that it did. But
it is an aspect which had a peculiar appeal for him,
and in some special way inspired his faith.

A Rhodes Scholar is bound to give this faith of
Rhodes its chance. This does not, of course, mean
that he is bound to share that faith. He cannot
mortgage his beliefs in this way. Nor does he com-
mit himself, in accepting a Scholarship, to. any
special issue of the experiment. It is conceivable
that he should come to Oxford, throw himself loy-
ally into Oxford life, and go away without having
acquired the special note of sympathy on which
Rhodes so clearly counted. There would be failure
in that, no doubt, and disappointment. It would
not, however, be a failure on the part of the Scholar

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184 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

to meet his responsibilities: but a failure, rather, on
the part of the given influences to do what was ex-
pected of them.

On the other hand, to accept a Rhodes Scholar-
ship, and then in Oxford to hold oneself aloof from
the things which, in the eyes of Rhodes, gave to Ox-
ford so much of its interest and significance — to--'
make little effort, that is, to realize one's member-
ship of the University in the only sense in which in
Oxford one can honestly do that, namely : as a mem-
ber of a College — this is something different; it is
indeed to shirk a responsibility which one may be
said plainly to have undertaken, that of giving the
Scholarship its chance.

There came to me once, straight from the train,
a newly arrived Rhodes Scholar. He was in haste
to explain that he had had his share of college life
in a university elsewhere, and was tired of it He
was, quite frankly, for reducing that side of Oxford
life to its lowest terms; and, by way of a beginning,
he proposed to take rooms in the town instead of
residing in College. We can all understand his atti-
tude, and even sympathize with it. But no sym-
pathy with the individual must be allowed to ob-
scure the fact that the man who approaches Oxford
in that spirit is ill-fitted to be a Rhodes Scholar.

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SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE 185

He is too old; not old in years necessarily, but old
in temperament. Conditions of life at Oxford de-
mand of a Rhodes Scholar — of the ideal Rhodes
Scholar at any rate — a certain elasticity and
freshness of outlook. This quality is by no means
always a matter of years. We have had Rhodes
Scholars of twenty-three, or even twenty-four, who
possessed it in abundance; and we have had others
of twenty who were without it.

Perhaps a word of warning may be in place here
against possible misunderstandings. It is not the
malleable man that we want: not the man whose
convictions sit loosely, and who is at the mercy of
each new influence. Character no doubt is a thing
of strange and contradictory appearances; and we
may often take for a sign of strength what is no more,
did we but know it, than some shift of weakness to
conceal itself. Still, spite of seeming contradictions,
we cannot afford to sacrifice either of the two ele-
ments which go to the making of an individuality —
power of sympathetic appropriation and power of
consistent self-maintenance. It is not the weak man
that will make the good Rhodes Scholar, but the
strong man. And the strong man is, in one sense, his
own centre. On the other hand, there is a sense in
which we may say, just as truly, that he is not the

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186 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

self-centred man. He must not be strong only with
the strength of a shut mind.

To "give the Scholarship its chance" is simply
to open oneself to the best that Oxford has to give.
With the best on the academic side we have dealt in
a previous chapter : here our concern is with the other
side; and it, too, has a claim to make on any Oxford
student, and on a Rhodes Scholar in a somewhat
special degree.

Between the academic side and the social there
may, of course, be conflict. A right adjustment of
their rival claims will make demands on any man's
character. There will have to be some compromise,
and some effort. Normally, it is to secure for the
academic side of life its proper recognition that effort
is required. But it is not always so. For a stranger
especially, the required effort may take another
form. The Englishman's customs, traditions, man-
ners, temperament even, will be unfamiliar to him;
and he may not always find adjustment easy. There
may be — indeed there are bound to be — things
that irritate, wound, or discourage him: insularities
(as they will certainly appear) of outlook, of man-
ner, of etiquette.

These difficulties are initial only, and on the sur-
face. Patience and a little humour solve them. But

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SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE 187

it does demand an effort; and I have known Rhodes
Scholars who, from native reserve, or from indolence,
or possibly from some unsuspected insularity of then-
own, have proved unequal to the effort. Abandon-
ing the attempt to overcome the unfamiliar, they
have fallen back on books and their own compatriots.
This is a loss to themselves as well as to others ; and
is, as I have already put it, not giving the Scholar-
ship its chance.

And it has other effects less immediately obvious.
Colleges are small and sensitive societies, jealous
of their membership. It is more than desirable, it
is simply essential, that Rhodes Scholars, who are
dependent upon the hospitality of these societies
for admission to the University at all, should not lay
themselves open to criticism on the ground of failing
to realize what that membership involves. " He is
in the College rather than of it" — said to me once
the Head of a College, speaking of a Rhodes Scholar.
This is a criticism which we must set ourselves to
make impossible. It must be remembered that Ox-
ford Colleges are limited in number, and that each
of them is limited in its capacity for expansion. On
the other hand, the number of applicants grows.
With increasing competition it will become increas-
ingly necessary for a Rhodes Scholar to rely, in

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188 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

applying for admission to a College, not upon any
general sympathy Oxford may have with Rhodes'
ideals, but upon his own character and record, read
in the light of such experience as the College may
have had of previous Rhodes Scholars. This lays
upon the individual Scholar a quite definite and per-
sonal responsibility. Not for his own sake merely,
but for the sake also of his successors, he must con-
vince his College that he is a living member of their
society, contributing to its life, and not merely bor-
rowing from it. The success of the Rhodes Scheme
in Oxford will depend not a little in the future on the
attitude of the Colleges; and that attitude can only
be a generalization from individual experiences;
from experiences, that is, of individual Rhodes
Scholars.

Accommodation within the College walls is lim-
ited. No College can house more than three quarters
of its members, many not more than half. The re-
sult is that students can never remain in College
more than three years; often not more than two.
At the end of that time they go into lodgings in the
town, sometimes singly, sometimes with friends.
Life in lodgings is somewhat more independent than
life in College, and has attractions for men who are
nearing the end of their time, and who have made

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SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE 189

their friends. It is bad for the Freshman, whose best
chance of finding himself quickly lies in being, from
the start, in the middle of things. The Rhodes Trus-
tees have laid it down as one condition of the tenure
of a Scholarship that, subject to the approval of the
College, the holder remain in College for the first
two years of the three for which his Scholarship
lasts. It was felt that nothing less than this was
consistent with the spirit of the Rhodes Foundation.

It might have been thought that any such rule
was superfluous: that a Rhodes Scholar would be
anxious to be " in College" in the fullest sense pos-
sible. With the majority that is so. Rules, however,
are made for the minority; and we have always a
minority who are tempted, in the course of their first
year, to think that theirs is the exceptional case in
which one year in College, and not two, will be the
right thing.

As contributing to this state of mind any one of
three considerations may predominate: a desire to
economize; a desire to work harder than may be
quite easy in College ; and a desire to escape from the
hurly-burly of College life. As to this last reason,
what we have already said on the subject of a Schol-
ar's relation to his College and to the social life
of Oxford generally should make it unnecessary to

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190 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

point out that this particular ground for going out
of College prematurely is not one which the Trus-
tees could possibly recognize.

The other two grounds — economy and work —
merit more consideration. It is quite true that life
in lodgings can be made somewhat more economical
than life in College. It is not always so made, but
it can be. It is also true that in lodgings it is easier
to secure oneself against interruptions than it is in
College. It is far from being the case that men al-
ways do work harder in lodgings, but probably they
can, if they wish to. These things are true. There is,
however, something else which is equally true, and
for us more important: and that is, that it is possible
to be both economical and industrious in College:
as economical, and as industrious, as is either neces-
sary or desirable. We need not go so far as to say
that it is always easy ; it is enough that it is possible.

Moreover there is in this respect a real difference
between the first year and the second. A Freshman
and a stranger is at a disadvantage. He knows little
of the customs, standards, and expectations of the
place: he is, rather inevitably, at the mercy of the
Senior man's courtesies or curiosities; and he has,
probably, curiosities of his own. Altogether he is not
well placed for economizing either time or money.

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SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE 191

But in his second year this is changed. He knows by
this time what he need do, and what he need not.
He has learnt the cost of things, and where money
goes. He is, in quite a new sense, master of his own
quarters, and of his own time. He can pick and
choose, and organize. The problem which looked
perhaps so insoluble to the Freshman, as he wondered
whether his time or his money would melt the sooner,
now almost solves itself.

For us a sentence sums the situation. It is the
Oxford custom to reside at least two years in Col-
lege. A Rhodes Scholar may not reside less.

It would take too long to attempt to describe
in any detail what life in College means. A few
words must suffice. Each student has a sitting-room
and a bedroom to himself. The rooms are furnished;
and the student either pays a rent to the College for
the use of the furniture, or buys it from the previous
tenant at a valuation. The latter plan may be
slightly more economical in the long run, but in-
volves an initial outlay which varies roughly from
twenty-five to forty-five pounds.

Everyone has breakfast, lunch, and tea in his own
rooms, and only uses the College Hall for dinner in
the evening, if then. His personal living is conse-
quently under his own control. He can be extrava-

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192 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

gant or economical almost at will. In point of (act
the majority of Oxford undergraduates live simply,
except when entertaining. At the same time, separ-
ate living is necessarily more wasteful and costly
than corporate; and, although there is less waste
than there used to be, it cannot even now be said
that life at Oxford is cheap. Still, within the limits
set by tradition and local circumstance, the student
is free to order his own life and determine his own
expenditure.

There is entire freedom in the matter of alcohol
and tobacco, in the sense that it is within the dis-
cretion of the student himself what he spends on
these things. He is at liberty to keep wine or spirits
in his own rooms. In this respect Oxford differs
from many colleges in the United States, and even
in the British Colonies. The use of alcohol is no
offence; only the abuse of it. As this may seem to
some a danger, it may be worth while to point out
that every man must learn, some time, to be with
alcohol and maintain his own standards; and that
this lesson may be learnt at Oxford with no greater
risk than elsewhere — indeed, with less risk than in
universities where the disciplinary or moral side of
life is less within the academic view.
, If there is freedom in some directions, in others

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SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE 193

there is restriction. It is well to face this early.
To the graduate from some other university it may
be irritating to find himself obliged to attend "roll
call" at eight o'clock in the morning; to be in Col-
lege at a given hour each evening (even though that
hour may be midnight) ; or to have to ask permission
to absent himself for a night; irritating also to be
fined five shillings if the University Proctor meet
him after dark without the academic dress which
everyone is supposed to wear at that time of day, and
which, as a matter of fact, scarcely anyone does wear ;
or ten shillings if the same ubiquitous official catch
him playing billiards after 10 p.m. There are reasons
for most things; but one can hardly be surprised if
to the newly arrived Rhodes Scholar, himself per-
haps a Bachelor of Arts, the reasons for these par-
ticular regulations have a way of not appearing
cogent. Expecting to take rank as a graduate, he
finds himself very much an undergraduate. Small
annoyances of this sort, however, are " part of the
game," and must be taken in the spirit of the game.
So taken, they lose their sting. Only a small man
will allow them to weigh in the balance.

It is not merely from the point of view of Uni-
versity regulations or College discipline that the
Rhodes Scholar will find himself a Freshman. He

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194 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

will be a Freshman also to his brother undergradu-
ates. In their eyes his degree, should he have one,
will make no difference. In all likelihood they will
not even know of it. In any case, they will not con-
sider that it affects the question. It is an accepted
principle of undergraduate living that "a Fresher
is a Fresher": and what makes a " Fresher" is date
of matriculation, not previous history. Socially,
there is no such thing as entering the Junior or Se-
nior year. Nor is there any difference, socially, be-
tween a student doing undergraduate, and another
doing graduate, work. Indeed, the Rhodes Scholar
will do well to dismiss from his mind everything
that he is accustomed to associate with the distinc-
tion between graduate and undergraduate depart-
ments. So far at least as any social consequences
are concerned, that distinction may be said, practi-
cally, not to exist. The graduate Freshman is just
one among a crowd of other Freshmen. He must
expect his treatment to be the same as theirs —
neither worse nor better. It is foolish to resent this.
We may say of it, as we said of College rules, that
it is just one of the conditions under which the game
is played here, and should be accepted as such with
sportsmanlike good humour.
Nor are there any actual indignities attaching to

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SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE 195

the status of a Freshman. There is nothing at Ox-
ford corresponding to what is known in the United
States as "hazing." The attitude of the Senior man
to the Freshman is purely negative. He is not hos-
tile ; only indifferent. He does not expect the Fresh-
man to make advances ; and he does not propose to go
out of his way to make many himself. He is not
wanting in generosity; only, his generosity is a re-
tiring and carefully shielded generosity. His atti-
tude is, indeed, a compound, in varying measure, of
self-satisfaction, reserve, — often coming very near
to diffidence, — and laziness. It betokens no ill-
will: least of all ill-will to a stranger because he is a
stranger.

This last point is worth a little emphasis; for
Rhodes Scholars have not always seen it clearly.
They have been inclined sometimes to interpret the
indifference which distinguishes the Senior man as
a pose adopted with the express purpose of slighting
them. That is fatally to misconceive the thing.
The Senior man's attitude is scarcely to be called a
"pose"; it is not adopted with any "express pur-
pose" at all; and it is not directed against individu-
als. It is just a spontaneous deference which he pays
himself.

And if there are barriers between ^'Classes,"

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196 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

that is, between Senior and Junior men, there are
also influences at work tending all the time to level
these barriers. Especially athletics. The place
which games occupy in the English schools and uni-
versities is imposing. They threaten, indeed, to be-
come an independent business, to establish claims
and to profess responsibilities of their own, coordin-
ate with those of other branches of education. They
come in as servants, and it is difficult not to suspect
them sometimes of wishing to be masters. But even
while we are alive to the over-emphasis of athletics,
we may yet claim, I think, that at Oxford they re-
main, on the whole, healthy. They are much in the
minds of people, but not exclusively so. The "mere
athlete" exists here, as everywhere; but he is not
a characteristic product of the place, and his influ-
ence has its limits.

Two points may, indeed, be made in favour of
Oxford athletics. The first is, that it is quite com-
mon to find among the prominent athletes of the
University men of intellectual interests and scholarly
ambitions. And the second is that athletics here are
essentially democratic. There are twenty Colleges
m the University, and each of these is an independ-
ent athletic unit with organized games of its own.
Each of the twenty Colleges has several crews com-

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SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE 197

peting in the Lent and Summer Races, some Col-
leges only two, others as many as five. 1 Each of
them has, for the winter, at least one Rugby Foot-
ball Team, Association Football Team, Hockey
Team, Track Team, and possibly Golf Team; and,
for the summer, at least one Cricket Team and
Lawn Tennis Team.

It is characteristic, speaking generally, of the Ox-
ford man to play a game rather than to watch one.
A big University football match draws a crowd.
So, sometimes, does the Final of the Inter-Collegi-
ate Association Football Cup Ties. Considerable
crowds attend the summer boat races. In the ordin-
ary way, however, College athletics are not spec-
tacular. It may be admitted that they lose some-
thing of excitement from this absence of a crowd.
But the gain outweighs the loss — at any rate in so
far as the absent crowd is itself engaged in playing
a game elsewhere. It means a widespread athletic
activity, an extension of games which is genuinely
popular and democratic. And any such democracy
of athletics makes for the levelling of social barriers.

1 In the Lent Races of 1912, 379 undergraduates took part, and in
the Summer Races, 270. A certain proportion of these 549 under-
graduates took part in both races; but we should probably not be
far out if we estimated the number of these who represented their
colleges on the river in the year 1912 as between 400 and 435.

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198 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

It is difficult for a second or third year man rowing
in the same boat with a Freshman to continue un-
aware of him, and to maintain, in the face of the
natural and engrossing interest of the crew, the ar-
tificial distinction of "years."

Moreover, it has to be remembered that, whereas
in so many universities the divisions are, to some
extent at least, horizontal, — that is, between differ-
ent "years" or "classes," — at Oxford the most
conspicuous divisions are undoubtedly perpendicu-
lar, between Colleges. An athletic competition be-
tween Freshmen and Sophomores can only make the
distinction between years more emphatic: but a
similar competition between Colleges will certainly
tend to break it down. And at Oxford athletic con-
tests are always between Colleges and never between
years.

As tending to level distinctions, games will have
a special value for the Rhodes Scholar; for nothing
will bring him more smoothly or more effectively
into the social life of his College.

But it must not be thought that games are die
only solvent of undergraduate exclusiveness. Clubs
and Societies are quite as potent. And they are
bewildering in number. They exist for any and
every purpose — social, literary, scientific, musical,

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SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE 199

political, philanthropic. Every College maintains
a number of them, in varying stages of vigour or
decay; and there are many, besides, not confined
to one College. These Clubs, or Societies as it
would in many cases be more appropriate to call
them, cut both ways. They cut perpendicularly
across the lines which divide men of one year from
men of another; and often they cut horizontally
also, across the lines dividing one College from an-
other. They are in that way doubly useful for
breaking down distinctions.

At every university there are men who spread
themselves over too many "student activities." In
Oxford we have that kind of dissipation too. On the
other hand, the machinery of the Clubs is kept
within bounds: and, if College "politics" exist, they
do so only mildly. The effort after office is not a
feature in undergraduate life.

There are no fraternities, nor any clubs, in the
sense in which clubs are understood at some uni-
versities, particularly in the United States — at
Harvard, for instance, and at Princeton. The club
at Oxford has, in some cases, its own rooms, where
letters can be written, newspapers read, and a meal
served; where also friends from different Colleges
can meet. But even in its most ambitious form, it is

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200 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

not a place for living, but only for meeting. And
most often it has no settled habitation at all, but
maintains an intermittent, and, so to say, peripatetic
existence. It is, indeed, these smaller and less se-
verely organized Societies, often no more than peri-
odical meetings of friends' in each other's rooms for
the pursuit of a common interest, that are chiefly
characteristic of Oxford. They come and they go,
and may not seem important ; but, whether they last
for many years or for few, they serve a purpose while
they last, and make a real contribution to the social
and intellectual life of the undergraduate. They
may certainly do so to the life of the Rhodes
Scholar.

The mention of clubs brings to mind the fact that
there exist at Oxford both a Colonial Club and an
American Club. The former has an altogether sim-
pler and less continuous existence than the latter,
having indeed no permanent rooms. But the pur-
pose of each is the same ; to keep the sojourner in Ox-
ford alive to the movement of affairs in the country
from which he is an exile. These clubs have been
criticized, on the ground that the object of any
American or Colonial in coming to Oxford should
be to get to know Englishmen, and that these Clubs,
in so far as they are successful, tend to defeat that

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SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE 201

object. This criticism has just enough of truth in it
to be misleading. It may be at once admitted that
the clubs can be abused. It does not follow that
they need be. It seems entirely reasonable that
Americans, for example — to speak only of them —
should meet from time to time to discuss American
topics. Three years is a long exile: and a man may
well get out of touch in that time with many things
athome. The American Club may just save hitn from
that ; may help him to find his bearings more quickly
on his return. It may, on the other hand, become a
snare; may serve as a refuge for the diffident, the
uuelastic, and the indolent, tempting them away
from the life which it is their first duty to share.
It would be too much to say that it has never been
abused in this way. We must be content that it has
not often been. How much or how little use a man
makes of such a club, whether American, Colonial,
or German, must be left ultimately to individual
judgment: but to individual judgment which is in-
spired and reinforced by an effective public opinion.
And to that public opinion each Rhodes Scholar
must, by his personal conduct and attitude, inevit-
ably contribute. Is it excess of optimism to trust
the issue to his sense of what that contribution
should be?

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203 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

We have said something of the intellectual, the
social, and the athletic aides of Oxford life. We
should not wish to leave altogether untouched the
religious.

The official religion of the University, if we may so
speak of it, is, of course, Anglican: in the sense that
the services are Anglican in the different College
Chapels, as well as in the University Church. Stu-
dents, however, who do not belong to the Anglican
Church have ample opportunities of attending serv-
ices of a different character. The Colleges show
them every consideration, and attendance at Chapel
is not insisted upon. Association enters so subtly into
religious influences that it may be difficult, some-
tunes, for a student from America or the British
Colonies to find in his College Chapel exactly the
inspiration for which he looks. On the other hand,
he may, perhaps, reflect that a College is a Soci-
ety, and that of the religious life of that Society the
common Chapel is the only possible organ and
expression. With that in his mind it is possible
that he may wish not entirely to absent himself. If
that is so, he will seldom find the Anglicanism of
the services so emphatic as to offend the susceptibil-
ities of those who may not themselves be Anglican.

There remains one aspect of a Rhodes Scholar's

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SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE 203

life on which we have barely touched, but which will
certainly have its interest for him, and its problems,
— the financial aspect.

Three hundred pounds a year sounds a large sum.
A student who has known university conditions
under which five hundred dollars proved an ade-
quate income is in danger of regarding three times
that amount as wealth. That is a serious miscon-
ception. The plain truth is that a Rhodes Scholar,
with his nine hundred pounds intact, has just
enough, certainly no more than enough, to carry him
safely to the end of his three years. The sooner he
faces this, and the more unreservedly he accepts it,
the better for all concerned. Speaking roughly, we
may say that he will need two hundred pounds for
the academic year of six months, and one hundred
pounds for the six months of vacation. And he must
not delude himself into thinking that he will have
opportunities of adding to his income, either in va-
cation or in term. The conditions of Oxford life —
social conditions and conditions of study — exclude
this possibility. Three hundred pounds is the limit
of his income. And he will need it all. He cannot
afford to start hampered by debt.

It is the first condition of the wise ordering of a
Scholar's opportunities that he should be free to

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204 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

make his decisions, as far as possible, without regard
to fin^nrial considerations. I have known men ad-
vance unduly the date at which they took "Schools"
(taking them, for example, after two years instead of
three) from a desire to escape certain fees incident to
a fuller preparation. I have known others plead for
permission to go into lodgings before the end of their
second year, solely because, having misconceived
the limits to which three hundred pounds could be
stretched, they had sunk themselves in debt. I have
known others pay for early extravagance — some-
times for extravagance actually prior to their elec-
tion to a Scholarship — by economies at a later time
which, however necessary in the actual event, were
not the less in themselves undesirable.

It is, after all, an integral part of Rhodes' con-
ception that his Scholars should be under no neces-
sity of curtailing their share in the general life of
Oxford from considerations of economy. They need
not do so, if they allow themselves the full Scholar-
ship. But it must be remembered that the amount
— three hundred pounds — is calculated with a
view to covering expenses from the time of arrival. To
charge it with preliminary expenses is to overtax it.
As beginnings are always expensive, it will be con-
venient if a Scholar can arrive with a little money to

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SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE 205

his credit. But that is not essential. If he start level,
he will be able to meet his obligations. The first
quarter of the year's Scholarship will be paid him at
the opening of the October term, and thereafter in
the first week of each term, and at the beginning of
the Long Vacation.

So much depends upon the proper appreciation by
a Scholar of the possibilities and limits of his Schol-
arship that no apology is needed for the emphasis
here laid on finance.

We have spoken in this chapter of some of the
opportunities which the general life of Oxford offers,
and of some of its difficulties and problems. The end,
however, must not be doubt and difficulty, but the
confidence of attainment.

It is nine short years since, on an afternoon early
in October, three young Germans, ceremonially
arrayed, stood in the Lodge of an Oxford College,
enquiring for the Oxford Secretary to the Rhodes
Trustees. They were the first of the Scholars
elected under Rhodes' Will to set foot in Oxford ;
the first of a succession which numbers already
close on seven hundred, and which will stretch into
the future, we must hope, past numbering. Nine
years is as nothing in the history of so unending a
venture; and to some of the questions which Ob-

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2o6 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

trade themselves only length of years can give the
answer. Still, even nine years have their lessons.
Certainly in any attempt to estimate the infln«»nrp
of Oxford on the mind and spirit of the Scholars,
they give us something upon which to work.

The men who have passed through Oxford
between 1903 and 1912 as Rhodes Scholars have
shown wide differences of ability, of temperament, of
interests, of early associations. In the face of these
differences it can only be a matter of surprise how
seldom Rhodes' faith has been falsified. Indeed, as
I look back over the past nine years, — I may be
pardoned for putting it in this personal way just be-
cause it is my personal experience of nearly seven
hundred Rhodes Scholars that alone can give my
words any interest, — what emerges in the retro-
spect, and stands conspicuous, is precisely the way
in which the complex influences of Oxford, partly
intellectual, partly moral, partly aesthetic, have jus-
tified the trust which Rhodes put in them. They
have won men to them. I have known Scholars who
had started here in a spirit of criticism, if not of hos-
tility, come in the course of their time to an appre-
ciation of Oxford methods and ideals, to an under-
standing of English character, and to a liking for
individual English men, which have been none the

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SOCIAL SIDE OF OXFORD LIFE 207

less genuine for being entirely consistent with that
loyalty to their own country which Rhodes expressly
desired them to retain.

Nor has this sentiment proved — if one may yet
speak of proof — a mere phase, without power of
survival. On the contrary; the letters from returned
Scholars have revealed an affection for Oxford, and
an appreciation of what the Scholarship has done
for the writers, in widening their sympathies and
enlarging their outlook on life, which have been big
with encouragement.

And best of all has been the note of satisfaction at
being once more at home. No issue of this Rhodes
experiment can satisfy which does not, even in
chastening, deepen and enrich the Scholar's affection
and loyalty for his country and his home. Critics
have sometimes questioned whether we could hope
for such an issue. It is scarcely too much to claim
that to this particular question the experience of
these years already gives an answer.

The first letter I pick from a bundle says: —

Oxford has taught me that nations are different rather
than superior and inferior ; and I do not find myself a
worse American for the knowledge, but a better. . . .
Oxford will always be to me a kind of second home, where
I can count on finding friends as willing to help me as they
were when I was an undergraduate.

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208 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

The chances are that a German letter, or a Colonial,
picked at random as this American letter was, would
have sounded no other note than this. And what
other note could better satisfy what Rhodes himself
desired? Or more simply bring together things on
which he set a value, affection for Oxford, enlarge-
ment of outlook, loyalty to home?

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CHAPTER VIII

OXFORD AND THE EMPIRE — AMERICA —
GERMANY

It is a striking fact that a man like Cecil Rhodes,
acknowledged to be one of the exceptional and origi-
nal minds of his time, of a temperament essentially
practical, when his thoughts and ambitions were
directed to the extension, maintenance, and perpetu-
ation of British influence in the world, should have
linked his plans for the Empire, as well as those
larger plans which looked to the general good of
mankind, with this ancient University. In analyzing
his reasons we may make all due allowance for mere
loyalty to his alma mater whose ordinary degree he
took such extraordinary trouble to secure; whose
honorary degree he reckoned among the greatest
honours of his life. But beyond this he evidently
thought that Oxford furnished an instrument better
than any other within his knowledge for carrying
forward the special purposes he had in view. On
this belief he staked a large part of his fortune, and
his hopes of posthumous influence. Was he right or

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2io THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

wrong in so thinking? If we are to reason from the
influence of Oxford in the past there can scarcely be
any question that he was right. The great Universi-
ties of Britain are institutions almost as important —
almost as much interwoven with the life of British
people — as Church, Parliament, Courts of Justice,
Departments of State. From them comes a very
large proportion of the men who carry on the work
and determine the character of all these institutions.
Among them all Oxford for centuries has held a fore-
most place. Sons of Oxford have been among our
greatest Empire builders and Empire rulers. Its
graduates fill the Halls of the Mother of free Parlia-
ments. For time immemorial every British Cabinet
has contained a considerable proportion of Oxford
graduates. So, too, with the higher grades of the
Civil Service. Oxford has furnished to the Empire
many, perhaps most, of its ablest viceroys. It feeds
the Diplomatic Service. Its missionary bishops and
clergy have gone to all parts of the world. It has
been the starting-point of some of the greatest reli-
gious movements of the modern world. There is
scarcely a university in the Colonies or India that
has not its quota of men trained at Oxford. The
tone of the place — its ideals — its merits and de-
fects, are felt wherever the British flag flies. A mere

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OXFORD AND THE EMPIRE 211

list of the men that Oxford has sent out even within
the last few years to rule or serve in various parts of
the world would of itself show how many and strong
are the links that connect the University with every
section of the Empire. Much of what has been said
applies also to Cambridge, and I would not wish
even to appear to forget the remarkable history of
the sister university; the great names of Newton,
Darwin, and Lister in science; of Milton, Words-
worth, Byron, Coleridge, and Tennyson in poetry,
or the large lines of development that she has
sketched for herself in later years. In a lesser degree
it applies to other universities, English, Scottish,
and Irish. Yet even while remembering this, I
venture to think that the relation of Oxford to die
Empire is exceptional.

What Oxford can do for her enlarged Imperial
constituency is best gauged by what she has con-
tributed to the higher life of the Empire in the past.
A national university should be at once a home of
learning, a place for training, and a centre of wide-
spread influence. All these it can be claimed that
Oxford has been. For some centuries she has turned
out in steady sequence a remarkable succession of
men "qualified," to use the words of the stately
Bidding Prayer of the University, "to serve God in

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212 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Church and State." Historians, theologians, philo-
sophers, teachers, jurists, economists, writers in
verse and prose : the long list comprises the names of
men who in all these departments of human effort
have powerfully influenced the thought not merely
of the nation but of mankind. An even more charac-
teristic product remains to be mentioned. This is
what may be described as the literary statesman —
the man who combines practical ability in the man-
agement of great affairs with culture and facility in
letters — who to-day is in office as Premier, Cabinet
Minister, or great administrative official, and to-
morrow when freed from the cares of office is the
brilliant writer, perhaps on some subject far re-
moved from his ordinary political work.

Mr. Gladstone, turning from the cares of State
to write volumes on Homeric theories or ecclesias-
tical subtleties; Lord Salisbury, brilliant reviewer
before he had entered the political arena to direct
the policy of the nation; Lord Rosebery, exercising
his keen intellect when out of office on Napoleonic
problems, political biography, or literary appreci-
ations; Mr. Bryce, expounding the Holy Roman
Empire or the American Commonwealth; Lord
Morley, filling up the intervals between governing
Ireland and India with essays or biographies that

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OXFORD AND THE EMPIRE 213

are English Classics — are widely known names
which may be taken as illustrations to explain what
is meant by the literary statesman. It will not be
questioned that through such men the Universities
have added dignity and refinement to political life
in England. No other country possesses this type
of public man in equal proportion; any other coun-
try would be enriched by having it. Few greater
advantages could be conferred upon the different
sections of the outer Empire than to train such men
for their service.

The great traditions of Oxford are closely con-
nected with an immense range of English history
and of human thought and progress. Here Alfred
is believed to have organized the beginnings of Eng-
lish academic life; here Roger Bacon started the
quest for scientific truth; here William of Wyke-
ham, Wolsey, and others founded centuries ago
some of the noblest and still unrivalled educational
structures in Europe, worthy homes of learning and
religion, to the joint service of which they were dedi-
cated; here Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley were
burned at the stake, and lighted the fire not to be
extinguished in England. In these classic walks
Addison meditated the Essays which have pre-
served his fame as a master of English prose; here

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214 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

Samuel Johnson suffered the pains of early poverty,
and laid the foundations of his prodigious learning;
and here Blackstone wrote his commentaries. Here
Rusldn gave his lectures on Art; here Newman
preached the sermons which stirred a generation
sunk in indifference to a new spiritual life; here
Methodism had its beginning; here a splendid Col-
lege foundation commemorates the Christian poetry
of Keble; here was kindled in Heber the apostolic
spirit which sent him as a missionary to India; and
here Arnold Toynbee dreamed those dreams of social
regeneration founded on social sympathy which
have so deeply influenced the thought and effort of
our own generation.

For students from the overseas dominions and
colonies, so far as noble and historic national tradi-
tions can give inspiration, Oxford stands almost
unique among English centres of life; and to those
who have capacity for such inspiration it can never
be disappointing. For these students it has practi-
cal advantages as well.

Throughout the Dominions and Colonies of the
Empire there is little doubt or hesitation about the
value for the higher purposes of life of an university
training such as that placed within the reach of
Rhodes Scholars. If we leave out those whose edu-

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OXFORD AND THE EMPIRE 215

(rational aims are purely scientific, probably ninety-
nine students out of a hundred in Canada, Aus-
tralia, New Zealand, or South Africa accept these
Scholarships with the feeling that they open to
them one of the most desirable opportunities for
higher training, and that the years spent by them
at Oxford will, if well used, give them added power
and prestige for the later work of life when they re-
turn to their own countries. Even students particu-
larly devoted to science in the Colonies, especially
those who take long views and are not hurried by
circumstances, would regard an Oxford training as
a great advantage in the general scheme of life.
This is a natural result arising from the relations ex-
isting between young countries and a motherland
with the social and political traditions of which they
have never broken. In almost every walk of life
in the great Dominions English experience counts.
The Canadian or Australian finds himself called
upon to carry into effect principles and methods of
government practically the same as those of Britain.
The conferences on national affairs to which he is
now at regular intervals summoned are manifestly
forerunners of still more intimate political relations.
The leaders of the Bar come frequently to London
to argue their cases before the Judicial Committee

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216 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

of the Privy Council, the final Court of Appeal for
the Empire.

Distinction won at Oxford, Cambridge, London,
or Edinburgh is a recommendation for professorships
in Colonial universities, while of late years not a
few British professorships have been filled from the
Colonies. English clergy are appointed to Colonial
bishoprics, and Colonial bishops are translated back
to English sees. Good work done in any part of the
Empire finds ready recognition in all its parts, and
a continuous circulation of ability is thus main-
tained. Oxford training and associations are there-
fore distinctly on the natural line of the ambitions
of students drawn from the great Dominions and
smaller Colonies of the Empire. It even offers a de-
finite career in the case of the Civil Service of India,
which is open on equal terms to Colonial candi-
dates, and has already attracted a small proportion
of Colonial Rhodes Scholars.

Speaking generally, I think it may be said that as
a result of this the scheme has so far drawn from
most of the Colonies of the Empire the best that
the educational system of each Province or State
can produce. On the other hand, it is constantly
asserted in the United States that there the system
has not as yet succeeded in attracting the strongest

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OXFORD AND THE EMPIRE 217

candidates. It is difficult to judge of the truth of
this view, but it should be stated as a widely held
American opinion, and one not uncommonly ex-
pressed by the American Rhodes Scholars them-
selves. If this opinion does represent a fact, some
of the reasons for it are natural and obvious. A
vigorous and ambitious student preparing for an
American life, and in the full tide of a success-
ful career at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or Chicago,
might well hesitate about interrupting it for three
years, unless the opportunites of Oxford had some
very direct bearing upon his future work.

Doubt about the advantage of the years at Ox-
ford, again, is expressed more frequently in the
United States than elsewhere. The reasons assigned
are various, in some cases depending on the career
to which men look forward. Young Americans, for
instance, who have taken a degree at Harvard, Yale,
Chicago, or some other home university, and whose
aim is a collegiate or university career as teacher or
professor, have for many years gone in numbers to
Germany and after two or three years of study there
have carried back a Doctor's degree which they find
a strong recommendation for professorships or lec-
tureships in their own country. A First or Second
Class taken at Oxford in Liters Humaniores, His-

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218 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

tory, or Literature; a B.C.L. Degree, a B.IJtt. or
B.Sc. Research Degree does not yet appear to count
for as much in this regard as the German degree,
though they certainly represent a Bevere training,
and though their attainment has strained to the
utmost the powers of the Scholar. Whether they
will gradually come to be more highly valued can-
not yet be foreseen.

A more insistent reason is found in the prevail-
ing haste of the young American, and perhaps the
most vigorous among them, to grapple with the
business of life at the earliest possible age; to get
training from the practical struggle itself, rather
than from prolonged preparation for it. In a coun-
try where such vast accumulations of wealth have
been made during the last century, and where,
therefore, the need for immediate earning cannot
be felt throughout large classes, it might be ex-
pected that this feeling of haste would decline. But
It does not appear to have done so. Even the sons
of the wealthy seem to yield to its influence.

As American students are partly through their
own universities when they become eligible for
Rhodes Scholarships, and as still more find that
they are not well prepared for an Oxford course till
still later, the prospect of three additional years of

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OXFORD AND THE EMPIRE 219

training at Oxford puts a heavy strain on men im-
bued with this feeling of haste.

Still another opposing influence which I have met
in the United States is an apprehension that the
atmosphere of Oxford, supposed to be one of refined
culture, may unfit a man for practical American life.
No doubt there is this danger, but it is a danger
common to university training everywhere. It con-
fronts the English student looking forward to Eng-
lish business life, as well as the American who goes
to Harvard or Yale. To some men the culture of
the University adds to practical ability new power
and a greater ease in its exertion; in others it seems
to sap the capacity for affairs.

When pursuing my enquiries in the United States,
I had the opportunity of discussing this aspect of
the question at the White House with President
Roosevelt, himself a typical man of affairs who has
enjoyed all the advantages of university culture.
His common-sense view of the matter seems worth
reproducing. "Will the training of your young
Americans at Oxford?" I asked, "and their close
touch for a prolonged period with English life, and
indirectly with European life, help or hinder them
when they come back later to work out their careers
in their own country?"

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220 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

His reply was that it will depend entirely on the
men themselves — on whether they make a wise use
of their opportunities or not. There could be no
doubt that Oxford is a place where power can be
gained for the higher purposes of life. The long ar-
ray of statesmen and thinkers of the first rank that
it has turned out in the present and the past genera-
tions alone proves that conclusively. If the Ameri-
can Scholars have the good sense to assimilate there
the things which make for increased personal power,
Oxford training will serve them as well in America
as it serves the ambitious young Englishman at
home. If they choose the frills and frivolities of
university life, these will do them more harm when
coming back to America than parallel things picked
up at an American university.

In spite of the opposing influences referred to, it
would seem that the opportunity offered by the
Scholarships may well make a strong appeal to the
patriotic and ambitious American student. He Is
the citizen of a comparatively new nation which is
working out under peculiar circumstances the diffi-
cult problems of a vast civilization, and which is also
constantly being drawn into more intimate relations
with the other nations of the world. Heir to all the
past of civilization, such a nation can only achieve

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OXFORD AND THE EMPIRE 221

its highest by gleaning the best experience of other
nations, past or present. The American student who
goes to Germany to learn the lessons of profound
special research — to Italy for the study of art in an
atmosphere unknown to our cruder Saxon commun-
ities — to France for the things which make for the
graces of life and mental culture — to England for
variety of political experience gained in a thousand
years of development and in administration applied
to the most varied conditions in every quarter of the
globe — and then comes back to pour into the stream
of life in his own country the results of all that he has
learned, must surely be in a way to serve the higher
need of his time and nation. For one group of such
students the Rhodes Scholarships furnish an open
door, as useful, in a" different way, as that offered to
the student from the Colonies of the Empire. The
Anglo-Saxon tradition is, after all, the greatest that
the American Republic has behind it — the one
that has dominated its development in the past, and
maintains its significance to-day in spite of the vast
assimilation of various races which is going on. Its
preservation is, perhaps, the best hope of America's
future. Rhodes wished to give his American scholars
easy access to the fountain-head of that tradition, in
the firm belief that this would make for mutual syra-

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22» THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

pathy and understanding between the two great-
est branches of the race, and be for the good of
both.

Nor can the significance of .the Scholarships be
less to a German student who comes to enjoy them.
The German Scholar meets at Oxford not only the
students of the British Isles, but those of the United
States, Canada, Australasia, and South Africa. For
a nation that is constantly extending its commercial
and diplomatic relations, and as a great world-power
looks out upon widening political vistas, intimate
knowledge of all these countries of the future and
their people must be of great value.

To all the Scholars, Colonial, American, and Ger-
man, Oxford furnishes for study an epitome of
English life. There, amid surroundings full of his-
toric association and buildings hoary with age, they
see and form a part of a ceaseless tide of young
life fed from every corner of English ground — con-
stantly shifting yet ever the same — flowing along
in channels almost as old as English history —
amid the traditions of great men and great move-
ments, yet always forming its own traditions and
lending itself to new movements; sometimes affect-
ing indifference — sometimes intensely in earnest:
but always, in its tastes and manners, its amuse-

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OXFORD AND THE EMPIRE 223

merits and its aspirations, reflecting the English life
of its time.

From all this some Scholars will draw more and
some less. It has been said that a person gets from a
picture or other work of art what he brings to it him-
self of power to see, absorb, and understand. The
same is true of life at a great university. One is in-
clined to say that it is especially true of Oxford, with
its singular combination of ancient tradition and
modern spirit. The larger mind will draw from it
the larger benefit. One is sometimes asked abroad
if Oxford is interested in the Rhodes Scholars. Like
other universities, Oxford is always interested in
Interesting men, and communities which send these
need never be anxious about the regard in which
their representatives will be held.

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CHAPTER IX

THE SCHOLAR

A han elected as a Rhodes Scholar soon discovers
that he has assumed a peculiar responsibility, and
one from which he will find it difficult to escape dur-
ing the rest of his life. He becomes the representa-
tive, worthy or unworthy, of the beneficent idea of a
great man. He has been formally selected from the
Country, State, Province or Colony to which he be-
longs as best fitted in mental, moral, and physical
equipment to represent at Oxford the community
from which he comes. As such a selected man a
good deal is naturally expected of him in the edu-
cational centre to which he goes. Speaking gen-
erally it may be said that a Scholar who does not
make some distinct impression on his Oxford Col-
lege or in the University through some combination
of the qualities for which he was selected, intellec-
tual ability, weight of character, and physical fit-
ness, can scarcely be regarded as realizing the ideal
of a Rhodes Scholar, or as justifying the judgment
that selected him. Again, in the community from

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THE SCHOLAR 225

which he comes, he is looked upon as a man selected
for the enjoyment of peculiar advantages of study
and travel, such as are usually only secured by the
possession of considerable private means. For three
years, by the exercise of a moderate economy, he is
free to pursue, unharassed by the financial anxiety
which hinders so many eager students, a course
of training, study, and observation, which can
scarcely fail, if properly used, to prepare him for
higher work in any scheme of life on which his mind
is bent. He has been in close touch with a centre
and system of training which has for centuries pro-
duced, and to the present day has continued to pro-
duce, many of the ablest statesmen, lawyers, publi-
cists, theologians, historians, critics, writers in prose
and verse, men of thought and men of action, of which
the Anglo-Saxon race can boast. He has been able,
should he so desire, to widen his observation of life and
manners by holiday visits to countries like France,
Germany, and Italy, which in art, science, litera-
ture, and government represent so many of the high-
est achievements of mankind. He has been brought
into more or less intimate association with men
selected like himself from every community where
the English language is spoken outside of the Brit-
ish Islands, with others from Germany, and with a

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326 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

large section of the (lite of the youth of England,
Scotland. Ireland, and Wales. Of a man so selected
and enjoying such opportunities a good deal will
reasonably be expected when he returns to play his
part in the life of his own land. To its very end peo-
ple will judge from his career whether leisure and
special opportunities for study and wide observa-
tion do or do not contribute to enlarge natural ca-
pacity and increase efficiency for the higher work of
life.

When Scholars are elected they are required to
submit to the Trust and to the College authorities
of Oxford an outline of their school, College, and
University career. These are duly entered oa the
records of the Trust. Only the additions made to
those records from his course at Oxford and his
achievements in later years will fully answer the
question of whether the Scholar has fulfilled tile
hopes entertained by those who selected him. The
opportunities offered by the Scholarship are there-
fore balanced by very considerable and practically
unavoidable responsibilities present and future.

While Oxford has from the first been interested
in the scheme, and appreciative of the contribution
made by the Rhodes Scholar to university life, there
is no doubt that he for his part has learned there

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THE SCHOLAR 227

his own limitations. While he probably has gained
a wider general outlook on life than the ordinary un-
dergraduate, he finds as a rule that intellectually he
has been less thoroughly grounded than the best of
the men with whom he comes in competition. The
Scholars admit freely that a well-trained sixth-form
boy fresh from Eton, Rugby, Winchester, or St,
Paul's is usually a more accurate scholar in the sub-
jects he has studied than the American, Canadian,
or Australian, who has been selected for a Rhodes
Scholarship at the end or near the end of his univer-
sity course at home. So far neither from the United
States, the Colonies, nor Germany has a Rhodes
Scholar appeared, who even after his preliminary
years at a home university has found the path to
Oxford distinctions, which are equally open to all,
an easy one. This perhaps might be expected in
Classics and Philosophy, the special fields of Oxford
scholarship, and that in which her greatest sons
: have been trained. But it has proved equally true
in Mathematics, in History, in English Literature,
in Jurisprudence, in Theology, in Medicine, in Eco-
nomics, to all of which many of the men have been
attracted. The Honour Schools in every depart-
ment have put a severe strain on all the Scholars
who have hitherto come. While the proportion of

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238 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

absolute failures has been small, the number of
marked successes has not been large.

The most ordinary complaint among the men is
that the three years of their course is a period all
too short for the work that Oxford would like them
to do. Where the field from which Scholars are
selected is so wide and the prize unusually large,
this result may seem disappointing; and suggests
considerations of the underlying reasons. Is it due
to deficiency of preparatory training, to the condi-
tions laid down in the Bequest, to the methods of
selection, to the type of candidate to whom the
Scholarships appeal, to the conditions of work at
Oxford? So far as the United States are concerned
one distinguished American authority has in an of-
ficial report publicly assigned the first of these rea-
sons as the explanation of the fact that only a small
proportion of American Scholars attain to the high-
est Oxford standard, and he uses it as an argument
for changed methods in secondary and collegiate
education in his own country. In several of the
smaller Colonies, the newer Provinces of the Do-
minions, and the less advanced States of the Union,
it is still difficult to get a training that prepares
effectively for a successful course at Oxford. But
these conditions are certain in almost every case to

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THE SCHOLAR 239

improve rapidly. Some heads of American colleges
have told me that under their highly specialized
system of sports athletic qualifications are seldom
associated with intellectual superiority, and that
the demand made in the scheme for these qualifica-
tions will tend to depress, rather than elevate, the
average of intellectual standard among the Ameri-
can Scholars. On these points it is difficult for an
outsider to judge. Others claim that Oxford's de-
mand for a certain amount of elementary Greek at
entrance limits the field of competition seriously,
and in the widespread indifference to the study of
Greek throughout America, cuts out a large propor-
tion of candidates likely to achieve distinction on
other lines.

In athletics, also, as well as in things intellectual,
the Scholars find that distinction is not easy to
achieve in the competition they have to meet Their
presence at Oxford has strengthened the University
athletics, but by no means revolutionized them, as
was by some expected. The Colonial Scholars have
up to the present time competed in about one hun-
dred inter-University athletic events; the American
Scholars in about forty; the German Scholars in
none.

In one particular the English youth at Oxford has

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230 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

some advantage over the American or Colonial as a
student. He is accustomed to his environment — is
more or less familiar with the great cities, cathe-
drals, and scenery of his country — has probably
already visited France or Germany, Switzerland or
Italy. The other comes to a new land where then:
b much to divert his attention — a thousand places
about which his curiosity has been aroused by the
reading of history and fiction; he wishes to see as
much of Europe as he can, and so is tempted to
throw into sight-seeing much time and energy that
the Englishman spends on his University work.
Unless indulged in with strict moderation the dis-
tractions of travel do not make for success in the
Schools. The fact is one that every Scholar is
bound to consider carefully.

But class lists and academic prizes will never fur-
nish a complete measure of the success of the Scheme
that Rhodes conceived. The Oxford honours which
his Scholars achieve will doubtless attract more im-
mediate attention; will indicate that power is being
pressed into the service of his ideas; will increase
the prestige of the scheme ; will gain wider recognition
for those who have been trained under it. On all
grounds such distinctions are to be counted as gain.
But the essential thing is that new power shall be

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THE SCHOLAR 231

gained for the work of life, and that in the country
from which the Scholar comes.

It is true that the American or Colonial Scholar
loses some touch with his native land by three
years' absence from it. But this has at all times been
true of men who wish to bring back to their own
countries the added power given by experience
gained in other lands. In addition to this there is
good ground for thinking that the Scholarship Sys-
tem in Oxford will, so far as it goes, exercise a unify-
ing influence on the thought of each of the countries
from which men are drawn, and will lead to associ-
ations very likely to be useful in after life. The
American Scholar meets at the English University
selected men from every State of the Union, North,
South, East, and West, and this under conditions
particularly favourable for intimate intercourse and
for exchange of ideas. It is a common remark among
the men that they are able to form more widely
representative connections and friendships with
every part of the Republic than they would be able
to do in any university at home, with perhaps one
or two exceptions. They have an advantage, too,
in doing this on neutral ground, where local preju-
dices lose their influence.

So, too, Australians meet on common ground

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232 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

fellow students from every State of the Common-
wealth; Canadians men from every Province of the
Dominion; South Africans those from most parts
of their country; Germans countrymen from every
State of the Empire. Thus the System will tend to
make for a wide common understanding in all the
units to which the System extends, as well as be-
tween the different countries.

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CONCLUSION

To the memory of Rhodes many striking monu-
ments have been erected by devoted friends in
marble, bronze, or stone; at Capetown — on Table
Mountain — in Kimberiey — Bulawayo — Salis-
bury — in the village of his birth — at Oxford.
Sculptors have vied with painters in transmitting
to posterity the outlines of his masterful figure and
features cast in Roman mould — in catching some
hint of the idealism combined with energy and iron
will which lay behind figure and face. Nor has he
lacked the "sacred bard" whom even the greatest
need for fame that is to endure.

The Province, larger than European empires,
which he secured for his country and which bears his
name ; the railway and telegraph systems with which
he changed the face of central South Africa; the es-
tates and mansions which he bestowed on the public;
the experimental and irrigation farms which he
established and bequeathed for the general good;
the splendid avenues with which he adorned cities;
the great industry which his business genius consoli-

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234 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

dated and saved ; the University College at Grahams-
town named in his honour, and in part endowed
by his wealth; the Oxford College enlarged and
strengthened by his loyal generosity; — all these
also remain in concrete form to preserve his memory
from oblivion.

The plans which he formed for the unification of
South Africa; the laws which he placed upon the
Statute Book, and especially those dealing with that
most difficult of South African questions, the treat-
ment of the coloured races; the great principle of
M equal rights for all civilized men," which inspired
his legislation, will remind later generations of his
liberal spirit and far-sighted sagacity. The great
teaching university for South Africa which he
planned, for which he strenuously worked, and
which friends, inspired by his enthusiasm, have so
liberally endowed, will doubtless soon rise on the
noble site which he selected for it, to realize the
educational aspirations he had formed for the coun-
try of his adoption.

But in addition to and perhaps above all these in
its claim on the grateful memory of posterity, and
for the perpetuation of his fame, is the Scholarship
Scheme which is here explained — begot of a wider
idealism — representing his thought at its highest

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CONCLUSION 335

level. Year by year aspiring youth, keen to equip
itself for the higher work of life, eager to add the
knowledge of the Old World to that of the New Con-
tinents, will be drawn from all the lands to which the
Anglo-Saxon race has spread, to learn what England
has to teach. They will interchange thought and
experience with each other, with the youth of the
mother-land, and with the German students drawn
to the same centre by the same influence. That this
intercourse will tend to produce among the nations
concerned the kindlier feeling, the better understand-
ing, and the mutual respect, leading up to the common
effort for the world's peace and welfare of which
Rhodes dreamed, there is every reason to hope.
And so the justification of his dreams must be left
in the hands of his Scholars.

When unveiling at Oxford a tablet erected by the

University to the memory of Rhodes, Lord Rose-

- bery, the senior member of the Trust to whose care

he committed his wealth, used words which furnish

the note on which this volume should close:

He has dug deep, he has dug broad, the foundations of
his own reputation. In South Africa . . . the name of
Rhodes will always be preserved, and in the British
Empire for which he worked with such sublimity of con-
ception, such broad capacity, and such unresting energy,
he must long remain a figure and a force. But is it not

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236 THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS

after all in this University of Oxford that his fame is most
secure? You are going to honour him to-day by setting
up a tablet, superfluous at the present moment, but not
superfluous in ages to come, which may recall to the most
ordinary passer-by the benefit he sought to confer on this
University. In your bidding prayers, in your ancient
services, I suppose the name of Cecil John Rhodes will
always be remembered. But will it not be chiefly re-
nowned as having summoned from all parts of the world
— from two great Empires, from the mightiest Republic
that has ever existed — an affluence of new Scholars
ready to worship at the shrine of this ancient University,
to imbibe its august traditions, and to take back to their
homes and to their communities a message of peace, civ-
ilization and good will. I do not know what other meth-
ods may be taken to perpetuate the memory of Mr.
Rhodes in this country or in South Africa, but sure I am
of this, that in this ancient University his truest and
noblest monument will be the career, the merits, and the
reputation of the Scholars whom he has summoned within
these walls.

THE BNI>

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APPENDIX A

The following is a list of the twenty Colleges to which
a Rhodes Scholar may apply for admission, and by one
of which he must be accepted in order to become a mem-
ber of the University. The date of foundation, and the
number of undergraduates as shown by the latest official
list are given for each College.

UNDERGRADUATES

DATE OF

NAME OF COLLEGE

FOUNDATION

University College

8?2

Balliol College

U63

Merton College

1264

Exeter College

I3H

Oriel College

1326

Queen's College

I340

New College

1379

Lincoln College

1437

Magdalen College

1458

Braseuose College

IS09

Corpus Christ! College

1516

Christ Church

■S46

Trinity College

1554

St. John's College

'555

Jesus College

i57i

Wadham College

1612

Pembroke College

1624

Worcester College

1714

Hertford College

1874

Keble College

1870

163
306

All Souls College (founded in 1437) is not included in

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238 APPENDIX

the list, as its constitution does not provide for the elec-
tion of undergraduates of the type of the Rhodes Scholars.
Its valuable fellowships (of about two hundred pounds
per annum), tenable for seven years, are freely open to
the competition of men who have been Rhodes Scholars,
and one of these has been won by a Scholar from the
Province of Quebec.

In addition to the Colleges here enumerated there are
certain Halls, membership in which gives University
rights. There is also a considerable body of non-collegiate
students. The opportunities thus given do not concern
the present statement, as the Rhodes Scholars are
expected to enter one of the Colleges.

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APPENDIX B

ON STUDENTS FROM FOREIGN
UNIVERSITIES

OXFORD UNIVERSITY STATUTES

Extract from StatL TiL II, Sect. IX

I. The Students of any Foreign University may be
admitted by vote of Convocation to the privileges of this
Section of the Statutes; and these privileges may be with-
drawn at any time by vote of Convocation.

Admission to such privileges shall not be extended to
the Students from any University, College, or other
Institution affiliated or attached to the Foreign Univer-
sity, except with the express sanction of Convocation.

a. Any Student of the Foreign University, who shall
have pursued at that University a course of study pre-
scribed by it and extending over two years at the least,
and who shall have reached a sufficient standard in all the
examinations incident to the course, may be admitted to
the status and privileges of a Foreign Junior Student.

3. Any Student of the Foreign University, who shall
have pursued at that University a course of study pre-
scribed by it and extending over three full years, and who
shall have taken Honours in the final examination inci-
dent to the course, may be admitted to the status and
privileges of a Foreign Senior Student.

4. It shall be the duty of the Hebdomadal Council to
draw up and submit to Convocation a statement of the

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2 4 o APPENDIX

condition* under which a Student of such a Foreign Uni-
versity shall be deemed to have reached a sufficient
standard or to have taken Honours as aforesaid. Every
such statement, if approved by Convocation, shall have
the force of regulations made by Statute.

5. The status and privileges of a Junior Student shall
be as follows: —

(a) The Term in which he is matriculated shall be
reckoned, for the purposes of any provisions respecting
the standing of members of the University, as the fifth
Term from his matriculation.

(6) A Junior Student shall not be required to pass
Responsions, or to pass in an Additional Subject at
Responsions.

(c) A Junior Student who has passed the Second
Public Examination, and has obtained Honours either in
the First or in the Second Public Examination, shall be
entitled to supplicate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts so
soon as he shall have kept statutable residence for eight
Terms. Provided that he has shown a sufficient know-
ledge of the Greek language.

(d) A Junior Student who has passed the Second
Public Examination, but has not obtained Honours either
in the First or in the Second Public Examination, shall be
entitled to supplicate for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts so
soon as he shall have kept statutable residence for twelve
Terms. Provided that he has shown a sufficient knowledge
of the Greek language.

6. The status and privileges of a Senior Student shall
be as follows: —

(a) The Term in which he is matriculated shall be

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APPENDIX 241

reckoned, for the purposes of any provisions respecting
the standing of members of the University, as the fifth
Term from his matriculation.

(b) A Senior Student shall not be required to pass any
part of Responsions or of the First Public Examination or
any Preliminary Examination of the Second Public Ex-
amination.

(c) A Senior Student shall be entitled to supplicate for
the Degree of Bachelor of Arts if he shall have shown a
sufficient knowledge of the Greek language, and if either
(i) he shall have kept statutable residence for eight Terms
and shall have obtained a place or his name shall have
been placed as agratat in the Class List of an Honour
School of the Second Public Examination; or (ii) he shall
have kept statutable residence for twelve Terms, and
shall have satisfied the provisions of Statt. Tit. vi. Sect. 1,
D. § 3. d. 18*.

No Senior Student shall be entitled to supplicate for the
Degree of Bachelor of Arts, unless he shall have satisfied
the provisions of this sub-clause.

7. Every person who, having been matriculated, de-
sires to claim the status of a Junior or Senior Student,
shall make his application through an officer of a College
or Hall or of the Non-Collegiate Body, to the Assistant
Registrar, and shall at the same time produce the neces-
sary certificates in support thereof, and pay to the Uni-
versity Chest, through the Assistant Registrar, the sum
of one pound or of two pounds, according as he is ad-
mitted as a Junior or a Senior Student. If he makes his
application later than four weeks from matriculation, he
shall pay an additional fee of one pound.

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a42 APPENDIX

8. Any person qualified to become a Junior Student on
matriculation may be admitted to any part of Resport-
sions, any part of the First Public Examination, and any
Preliminary Examination in the Second Public Examina-
tion.

9. Every person who, being qualified to become a
Junior or Senior Student on matriculation, desires to have
his name entered for an examination before he has been
matriculated shall make his application to the Assistant
Registrar through an officer of a College or Hall or of the
Non-Collegiate Body, who shall send the name to the
Assistant Registrar seven clear days before the day fixed
for entering names for the Examination in question, to-
gether with

(a) The statutable fee and in addition thereto the sum
of one pound or of two pounds, according as the Candidate
claims to be qualified to become a Junior or a Senior
Student;

(b) A declaration that in his opinion the Candidate
bona fide desires admission to his College or Hall or as a
N on -Collegiate Student as the case may be, and

(c) Evidence showing that the Candidate is qualified
as aforesaid.

Any candidate whose name has been entered for an
examination as aforesaid shall, so soon as he has been
matriculated, become a Junior or a Senior Student, as the
case may be.

io. A Foreign Student shall be deemed to have shown a
sufficient knowledge of the Greek language if he has passed

either (a) one of the examinations enumerated below in
Schedule A;

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APPENDIX 243

or (b) such examination or examinations of his Univer-
sity as shall satisfy the conditions laid down under the
provisions of the next following clause. Provided that
evidence of bis having satisfied these conditions shall
have been produced to the Assistant Registrar, and that a
registration fee of one pound shall have been paid through
the Assistant Registrar to the University Chest. If the
evidence shall not have been produced before the end of
the Term of his matriculation, the Foreign Student shall
pay an additional fee of one pound.

1 1 . It shall be the duty of the Hebdomadal Council to
draw up a statement of the conditions under which a Stu-
dent of a Foreign University who has been admitted to the
privileges of this Statute shall be deemed to have shown
a sufficient knowledge of the Greek language in the exam-
inations of his University. Every such statement shall be
submitted to Convocation, and, if approved, shall have
the force of regulations made by Statute.

12. The Assistant Registrar shall have power to make
and vary from time to time regulations for the admission
of qualified persons to the statusof a Junior orSeniorStu-
dent, and for enabling Junior or Senior Students, or per-
sons qualified to become Junior or Senior Students, to
offer themselves for examination under the provisions of
this section, provided that all such regulations and any
variation in them shall be submitted to the Vice-Chan-
cellor and Proctors for approval.

13. It shall be the duty of the Assistant Registrar to
keep a sufficient record of the members of the University
who have the status and privilegesof a Junior or a Senior
Student respectively, and of the persons not yet matri-

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244 APPENDIX

dilated whose names have been entered for an examina-
tion under the provisions of this section, and to see that
no Candidate is admitted to examination or to any of the
privileges of a Junior or Senior Student who has not satis-
fied the conditions of this section.

Schedule A

t. The Examination in Stated Subjects in Responsions,
or any examination which under Statt. Tit. vi, Sect. I , d.
a 1 exempts a Candidate from Responsions.

t. The Examination in Additional Subjects in Respon-
sions, the subject offered being a Greek book, or any ex-
amination including Greek which is accepted by the Uni-
versity as equivalent to this Examination.

3. The Examination of Candidates who offer the
Greek language only at Responsions.

4. The Examination of Candidates not seeking Hon-
ours in the First Public Examination.

5. The Examination of Candidates for Honours in
Greek and Latin Literature in the First Public Examina-
tion.

6. The Preliminary Examination in the Honour School
of Jurisprudence, provided that the Candidate satisfies
the Examiners in a Greek book in that Examination.

7. Group A. I of the Examination of Candidates who
do not seek Honours in the Second Public Examination.

8. Group D of the same Examination.

9. The Honour School of Liters Humaniores.
10. The Honour School of Theology.

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APPENDIX C

The Responsions Examination, or its equivalent, as
carried out by Oxford University for -the Rhodes Trust,
embraces the following subjects: —

1. Arithmetic — the whole.

2. Either (a) The elements of algebra.

(fr) The elements of geometry.

3. Greek Grammar.

4. Latin Grammar.

5. Translation from English into Latin Prose.

6. Either (c) Unprepared translation from Greek and

Latin;
or (b) Unprepared translation from one of these

languages, and a book from the other;
or (c) one Greek and one Latin Book.
The authors assigned for examinations vary slightly
from year to year. The requirements for 1912 may be
taken as typical, viz.: —

Any of the following portions of the undermentioned
authors will be accepted as a "book": —

Euripides (any two of the following Plays) : Hecuba,

Medea, Alcestis, Bacchse.
Homer: (1) Iliad, 1-4 or 2-5; or (2) Odyssey, 1-5

or 2-6.
Plato: Euthyphro and Crito.
Xenophon: Anabasis, 1-3 or 2-4.
Casar: De Bello Gallico, 1-4.

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246 APPENDIX

Cicero: (i) In Catilinam, 1-4, and In Verrem Actio
I.; or (2) pro Murena and pro Lege Manilia; or
{3) de Senectute and de Araidtia.
Horace: Odes 1-4.

Virgil: (1) the Bucolics, with Books i-t of the

iEneid; or (2) the Georgics; or (3) the fneid,

Books 1-4 or 2-5 or 3-6.

The Texts used in setting the Examination Papers are

those of the series of Oxford Classical Texts, so far as

these have been published by the Oxford University

Press.

Sets of the Responsions Examination papers for past
years can be ordered from the University Press, Oxford,
or from the Oxford University Press, 09-33 West jad
St., New York.

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INDEX

Addison, Joseph, 313.

Age limits, 139, 136.

Alfred, King, 313.

American Club, 200.

American scholarships, 95, 133.

Anthropology, 174.

Aristotle, influence of , on Rhodes,
7.8.

Athletics, in America, 133; in Ox-
ford, 196, 339.

Australia, 93, 93. 1 "7. "34. 215.

Bacon, Roger, 313.

Barkly West, 9.

Bamato, 19, 30.

Basutos, 9, 14.

Bechuanaland, 17, 33, 33.

Beira, 37, 39, 63, 69,

Beit, Alfred, 30,31,89.

Bermuda, 93.

Blackstone, 7, 314.

Bloemfontein, 75.

Bond, the Africander, 35, 67.

British South Africa Company,

the, 27, 39, 38. 43, 57, 76.
Bryce, Right Hon. James, 313.
Bulawayo, 33, 39, 69, 70, 86,

233.

Cairo, 70.

Cambridge, 91, 136, an, 316.
Canada, 21,93,93, 118,315.
Cape Colony, 9, 10, 14, 32, 33, 36,

41,76,93,96, 116, 117, 135.
Cape to Cairo route, 39, 36.
Capetown, 67, 75, 87; archbishop

of, 130, 333.
Carrington, Sir Frederick, 63.

Chamberlain, Right Hon. Joseph ,

63.
Chibu, 38.

177.
Clubs, 198.
College Chapels, 303.
College Expenses, 303.
Collegiate Standing, 139.
Colonial Club, 200.
Colonial Scholarships, 91, 96.
Colonial Universities' Statute,

110, 160.
Columbia University, 133.
Committees of Selection, 111,114,

1*0. re-
convention of London, 33.
Cranmer, Archbishop, 313.

De Been, 19, 30, 31, 33, 74.
Delagoa Bay, 35, 46.
Diplomas, Oxford, 174.
Downing Street, 46.

Edinburgh University, 183, 316.
Egypt, 48, 70.
Eliot, President C. W., 134.
Eton, 136, 337.

Foreign Universities' Statute,

in, 160.
France, 331, 335.
Fuller, Sir T. E., 34, 41, 59, 69.

German East Africa, 46.
German Emperor, 58, 96-97, 138.
German scholarships, 96, 138.
German student*, 333, 337, 339,
233. 335-

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248 INI

Germany, Doctor's defied from,

317; research in, *3i; viati to,

235.
Gladstone, Fight Hon. W. E- t 10,

48, 313.
Glen Grey act, 41, 43.
Gordoo, General Charles, 7. 14.

15-
Graduate Work, 179.
Greek, study of, 7, 8, 164, 179.
Grey, Earl, 80, 89.
Groote Schuur, 87.

Harris, Dr. W. T., 133.
Harvard University, 133, 134.
Hawksley, Bourchkr F„ 89.
Heber. Bishop, 314.
Hofmeyr, Jan, 33, 34.
Home Rule, Irish, 47, 48.
Honour Schools, 141, 148, 149,

158, 167, 169, 177. M7-
Hdbner, Baron von, 18.

" Inter- institutional courtesy,"

130.

Inyanga estate, 87.

Ireland scholarship, 176.

Italy, art study in, 331 ; visits to,

Jamaica, 93.

Jameson, Sir Starr, 38, 39, 54. 57 1

60,89.
Johannesburg, 45, 54. S». 57-
Johnj Hopkins University, 133.
Johnson, Samuel, 314.
Junior students, 160.
Jurisprudence, Honour School of,

Keble, John, 314.

Khartoum, 14.

Kimberley, 4, 5, 9, 19, 39, 45, 63,

73. 74. 87, 233-
Kipling, Rudyard, 78.

Kitchener. Lord, 71.
Kruger, President Paul, 16, 33,
»4. S5. 33. 37. 5i. 52. 53. 73.

Labram, Mr., 74.
Latimer, Bishop, 313.
Lo Bengula, 35, 39, 40, 43.
Lorenco, Marque*, 46.

Macdonald, Sir John A., 49.
Mahdi, the, 15.
Majuba HiU, 10.
Mashonaland, 30, 36, 37, 43.
Masfaonas, the, 31, 37, 39, 63.
Massachusetts, 1 34.
Matabek, the, 37, 38, 40, 63.
Matabekland, 30, 43 ■
Matopo Dam, 70.
Matopos, the, 63, 64, 77- 86.
Medicine, degree in, 173.
Micbell, Sir Lewis, 30, 39, 67, 71,

89-
Milner, Lord, 89.
Morley, Lord, 48, 313.
Muixenburg, 77.

Natal, 3, 3, 5, 93.
Newfoundland, 93.
Newman, J. Henry, 314.
New York, 116.
New Zealand, 93, 93, 134, 315.

Oriel College, 5, 7, 88.

Oxford, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 71, 88,
91, 104, 134, 136, 138, et seq.;
the social side of, 181; relatioo
of, to the Empire, 309-16; to
America, 316-31 ; to Germany,

Partes, Sir Henry, 49.
Parnell, correspondence with \

Pass Schools, 146, 153.
Penaeiathcr, Col., 30.

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Pennsylvania University, 132.
Pondolaud, 41.
Port Elizabeth, 66.
Pretoria, 75.

Princeton University, 133.
Progressive Party, the, 68.
Public Schools, English, 133.
Pungwe River, 37.

Raid, the Jameson, 54, 60, 67.

Raid, John Brown's, 60.

Research Degrees, 166-68.

Responsions, 109, 135.

Rhodes, Cecil John, birth and pa-
rentage and school life, I ; emi-
grates to South Africa, 3 ; life in
Natal, 3 ; removes to Kimberley ,
4; matriculates at Oxford, 5;
ill and returns to South Africa,
6; alternate life at Oxford and
Kimberley, 6-9; elected to Cape
legislature, 9; dominating ideas
about South Africa and the
empire, 10-13; appointed to
Basuto Commission, 14; sent
to Bechuanaland, 17-18; con-
solidates De Beers Co., and
becomes chairman, 19; views
about equal treatment to Dutch
in Bechuanaland , 33 ; treats with
Lo Bengula, 35; secures char-
ter for British South Africa Co.,
37; occupation of the Masfao-
naland, 30; Prime Minister of
Cape Colony, 31; forms alli-
ance with Hofroeyr, 33; visits
Mashooaland, 37; uprising and
defeat of Matabete, 39; deals
with Pondoland, 41 ; passes
Glen Grey act, 41; attempt!
to purchase Delagoa Bay, 46;
contributes to Irish Home Rule
Fund, and to Liberal Party, 47 ;
discusses Imperial trade, 49;
supports Jameson Raid, 51-54;

)£X 249

resigns Premiership, 55; ex-
plains his relation to Raid, 56;
visits England, 63; returns to
Rhodesia, 6a; takes part in
Matabele war, 63; arranges
peace with natives, 64; receives
popular ovation in Cape Colony,
66-, before Parliamentary Com-
mittee in London, 68; returns
to Legislative duties in South
Africa, 68; serious illness in
Rhodesia, 69; visits England
and Egypt, 70; receives D.C.L.
degree from Oxford, 71; takes
part in defence of Kimberley,
73; works in Rhodesia, 75; tra-
vels in search of health, 76; re-
turns to Capetown, 77; illness
and death at Muiienburg, 77;
burial in the Matapos, 77-79.

Rhodes, Rev. F. W-, 1,2.

Rhodesia, 30, 69, 93, 96.

Ridley, Biabop, 313.

Rondeboach, Collegiate School
of, 139.

Roosevelt, President, 319.

Rosebery, Lord, 89, 313, 335.

Rugby, 136, 337.

Ruskin, John, 314.

Saint Paul's School, 337.
Salisbury, Lord, 21a.
Salisbury, 30, 39, 46, 333.
Schmidt, Dr., 138.
Selous, F. C, 30.
Senior students, 161.
Soudan, 15.
South Africa, 135, 315.
Southern Secession, War of, 53.

Table Mountain, 79, 333.
Timet, The, 70.
Toynbee, Arnold, 314.
Transvaal, 10, 16, 17, 33, 34, 36,
4*51.

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Tuli River, 36.

Tutorial system, 145, 159-57.

Uganda, 46.

Uitlanders, 51, 56.

United State*, 13, 91, 94, IK

118, 133.
University, the Cape, 135.
Univeiaity College, 5.
University Prises, 175-76.
University System, 138-180.

Vacations, 157-59.
Vinerian scholarship, 176.

Walfisch Bay, 35.
Warren, Sir Charles, 33, 33, 34.
Western States, 133.
Winchester School, 136, 237.
Wolsey, Cardinal, 213.
, World's View, the, 78.
Wykeham, William of, 213.
Wylie. F. J., 138.

Yale University, 122.

Zambesi, 37, 28.
Zimbabwe, ruin* of, 37.

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